Long time no chat, my darlings. I have so many thoughts about so many things happening around us right now. None of them good. We had (and still have) the potential to do so many incredible things at this juncture in history, but everyone seems so worn down and lacking the energy to do more than just survive. It’s imperative, then, that when we do get those bursts of energy that we use them to bring something meaningful to the world around us. It’s those little efforts of inspiration that could potentially turn the tides for us away from the manufactured culture we’re currently forced to live in. Butterfly effect and all that. But anywho, here’s what I’ve been up to lately…
Project Updates
First motion of business: the updated (and final; no take backsies) to-do list tracker! Some of these things got moved around, rearranged, and restarted for one reason or another. I regret, for instance, shoving the entirety of my task to “complete [my] artwork backlog” into a single line. This means that that doesn’t get any checks until all of the backlog is complete, despite great progress toward it. Again, though… No take backsies. So, it is what it is.
🖤 Dezy Delaceur, LLC: In my last update, I mentioned that I wanted to improve my social media presence, and I have indeed been more active on social media than previously – though, likely, still not enough. There is a mental space one gets into when recognizing that much of the internet is occupied by robots, zombies, and Dr. Jekylls while also recognizing that pushing through and past the fray is the only way to get your work into the eyes of the people meant to see it. Tumblr remains my most active platform, but I am thinking YouTube and Reddit will also be productive spaces to share my work this year. I think, for the next video on my personal YouTube channel, I’ll likely record the essay I wrote about the Epstein situation. I also have a good number of other ideas for the channel, mostly inspired by some of the other creators I frequently check in on.
I am also back to work on two big projects – the Mythos Reimagined series and the upcoming book (and accompanying artwork, likely in the form of prints and an oracle deck) on my religious path. More on the latter in The Witchy Housewife section of this update, but as for the former: I am currently hard at work on Theogony again and hard at work on the third (yes, ugh, I know) iteration of my portrait of Hesiodos. I just haven’t been at all happy with the first two, so it’s back to basics with a direct portrait study. I’ll pop a little preview for you to the left.
Finally, I’ve created a couple of community pages on Tumblr, Facebook, and Reddit. They are still in the early stages of development, so I don’t think I’ll be sharing them here just yet, but it’s just one of those ideas I’ve had regarding ways to more easily connect with genuine likeminded people online in an environment that has gotten so difficult to navigate. I worry about the workload I’m putting on myself, though, so it is on the backburner for the time being.
💜 The Witchy Housewife: I’m pleased to say that the sabbat series of articles for my blog (and accompanying Digital Grimoire entries) are totally complete! I have also posted an introductory video over on the YouTube channel, started painting my psephoi tiles sets, and have begun wrapping up the first batch of magickal oils to be made into finished products. On the other hand, I am still working on the Digital Grimoire, which I had hoped to finish before the new year. Here’s where we are currently:
Many of the completed sections will eventually be expanded upon and possibly reorganized at some point later down the line, but my priority for the moment is getting the unfinished sections completed. It’s a lot of work transcribing and organizing my notes on these topics, and I’ve also been learning some new things along the way. My goal, though, is to have a fully fleshed-out library of information that people of all levels can easily access and digest, so it’ll all be worth it in the end.
Other plans for this year – besides completing the Digital Grimoire and selling new handmade products – include the completion of Khthonic Wicca, some new intuitive services, my free (and much needed, I feel) Aspects of Self course, and a whole bunch of new content for YouTube. Either this month or next month, I will also be sharing my own Khthonic Wiccan Theogony and an article on justice-related workings, as well. If this interests you, please feel free to subscribe to my mailing list over on The Witchy Housewife, as I will soon be posting a more extended update/annual plan article over there to keep my readers and customers in the loop. As one final note, The Witchy Housewife has a new and improved logo, along with a new design for our resident witch (pictured on the right).
❤️ Luxe Gothique Boutique: I want so badly to throw myself headfirst into the boutique, but I know it’s important to complete other projects first before doing so. Spreading myself too thin is one of a handful of problems which I feel really hold me back in a lot of ways. Just to keep you posted, though, once I finally do get to it, the current action plan is as follows: (1) spruce up the website, (2) tidy up my listings for the Classique Collection, (3) start designs for my other planned collections, (4) start designs on original silhouettes and find a manufacturer, and (5) introduce everyone to the Luxe Gothique Ghouls (the mascots of the boutique who each sport their own unique style). An update will be shared when the time comes.
💚 Dezydration: I’ve been a lot more invested in my art this year, which has been really good for me. I’ve got some commissions I’m working on currently, I’ve been giving plenty of attention to my backlog, I’m working on some new things for the shop, and – perhaps most excitingly – I have started giving time to the concept work for A Little Town Called Lorauvial (the first comic I will be publishing). You may have noticed that my website was down for a bit while it was undergoing a bit of a refresh. As of now, it is back up with new artwork, new shop listings, new commission pricing, and a new overall look. There are still a lot of placeholders and things that need to be moved around design-wise, but it was really important to me to get my art shop and service information back online to avoid missing out on any potential commission work.
I am also thrilled to say I’ve been getting back into traditional work again. This isn’t to say I’m completely moving away from digital. It is still the cheapest and most forgiving medium which exists, but it just isn’t really the same. I’ve cleared the cobwebs from my stack of barely-touched sketchbooks and pulled out two – a gouache pad for painting practice/general use and a tanned page one that might be fun for playing with more (loosely) rendered concept work specifically.
If you’re interested in seeing new artwork, you can always check the website. My entire public portfolio of artwork and writing is available there. For live updates, feel free to follow me on social media. Tumblr is the best platform to find me active right now, but I do plan to set a catch-up queue to post on all my other platforms as soon as I am able. As a reminder, though, I’m not really active in those other places. I don’t do a mailing list for new artwork; it just seems a bit much for me.
💙 Nightshade’s Auralcraft: I know my circle here has been kept pretty separate from this work (by design), but for those here that do enjoy affirmations or ambience audios, the third batch of my subliminal refresh is being queued currently. The refresh is my priority here, so more announcements to come once more progress has been made in that regard.
🔒 Secret Projects: I am very close to wrapping up a very large confidential commission which may open up a whole new world for me in the realm of the commission services that I offer. I’m excited to add it to my portfolio when the time comes. Additionally, one of my previously hush-hush projects I was having built, Chronomagica, is now live with limited functionality. This is your one-stop shop for daily magickal energies. It pulls the location from your browser and gives you the date, time, weather, astrology, planetary hour, and luck (based on auspicious days as relayed by Hesiodos in his Works and Days). The functionality of the arrows and of switching between light and dark mode has not been implemented just yet, and there are a couple of other features and layout things that need work, but it may be used accurately on a daily basis as needed. More updates to come later on.
Life Updates
Let’s see… In the realm of everyday life updates… When I’m not overworking myself or stressing about the state of the world, I have been trying to be more mindful of the art I consume. This year, I’ve started keeping track of all the films, shows, music, books, comics, games, and art I’ve spent time with along with personal ratings and notes on why I liked or disliked them and what they may have meant to me to eventually share in a video at the end of the year. I feel like things move so quickly now that it’s an entirely radical act to just slow down. There’s just so much happening all at once and all the time, and I find myself craving landlines and dial-up and postage and a break from it all – a second and different life without all the noise.
I’ve been doing a lot of learning and studying more recently in the other pockets of free time I get. I’m continuing my studies on Greek history and language, revisiting the fundamentals of the visual arts, and prying open some of the unread books on my bookshelf. For my astral travel nerds out there, I broke down the entirety of Frank Kepple’s work into an easy-to-digest bullet point outline format – the format I use for all my notes – which is available on my Monthly Blessings Patreon to subscribers or as a single purchase for those who prefer it. This has greatly influenced my daily meditation practice.
I also did some contract work recently that was a lot of fun and allowed me to build things with my hands. I met some really wonderful people during that time, which seems to be a recurring point of optimism in my life whenever things get a bit rough. At just the right time, I always seem to meet people whom I value so highly that it makes me want to improve myself just to feel more worthy of being their friend. And make no mistake, things are… Rough right now for everyone. Society is totally alien to me right now – or, perhaps, I am alien to the world. I’m not sure, really. Is anyone?
Lots of love and all that jazz,
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