On Joining Mastodon
#88: Here & Now, Art, Derek Caelin, John Yau on Pachi Maruchu, 5 Asian Canadian artists, King Bolete, handmade journal (one piece of paper), Fog Chaser, and Aikyo.
HERE & NOW
My numbered walks continue. I’m mostly staying near home these days, but perhaps I’ll get out to some trails, soon—it’s almost fungi foraging season around here (see the video in the Links section). Here are a couple images from Walk #16, from a stop at the Larkin House garden in Old Town Monterey:
In other news, the implosion at Twitter has started an influx of tens of thousands (again) into Mastodon that, by turns, has been exciting, fun, although—for the moderators and curators—it has also created some sleepless nights.
I’m starting to see a much more diverse population emerging—more BIPOC, AAPI—also scientists and researchers, journalists and media (UK Guardian, Al Jazeera, Washington Post), animation artists, published writers, pundits, techies, and more. I’m happy to see this, because I’ve been starting to feel like Mastodon is my online social-media home. I feel comfortable there, from my two perches at sfba.social and especially at mastodon.art (my handle is @JeanTangerine).
If you are thinking of joining Mastodon, here are a few tips:
Take some time to find an instance that resonates with you (for example, I joined Mastodon.art because there are many artists, writers, and musicians there).
Be sure to check the rules and moderation policies for any instance, because each instance is different, and their rules determine the quality of your experience.
Everyone tends to jump right in and join Mastodon.social. But I strongly suggest that you do not do that. It’s the biggest and most visible instance right now, but with so many members that it’s easy to feel “lost”there. Also, moderation for specific issues in Mastodon.social takes longer to happen because of the instance’s size.
Consider joining a small instance, with fifty to a thousand members. Moderators in smaller instances tend to deal with issues in a shorter period of time, say, within a day or two—sometimes within a few hours.
While you’ll likely never get to know a moderator in corporate-run social media, in Mastodon moderators are part of the community; in many cases you’ll get to hear from them fairly often and be able to communicate with them.
“Likes” (the star icon) don’t mean much in Mastodon. It’s all about boosts and replies and actual discussions.
Anyway, I could go on . . . but the Mastodon Help Guide will answer most of your questions. See also the video by Derek Caelin in links, below.
ART
The next issue of Eulipion Outpost will feature Six Questions for artist Terese Garcia. Read issue #89 on November 12 for her responses and art.
Below, a quick experiment in using cold wax medium with colored pencils and graphite in a very small accordion-fold book. Some areas were masked out for highlights. This was “high risk” because CWM is messy and can seep into the paper a little bit (which is why I used heavy weight paper).
Still, after the medium sets (it can be used as a fixative), I hope the pages can be folded and bound in a simple book cover with minimum mess. I may have to insert paper between pages to keep each page from imprinting its neighbor.
LINKS
Derek Caelin suggests that decentralized social networks may provide the best way of dealing with hateful content online—and in my experience, they’ve been doing a pretty good job:
“Reclining men, reading radical books” an article by poet/critic John Yau on artist Pachi Muruchu’s resistance to colonization and Euro-centric values, including capitalism. (Hyperallergic)
Hybridity: A documentary by Kevin Jin Kwan Kim about 5 Asian Canadian artists—Ziyian Kwan, Jace Junggyu Kim, Amanda Sum, Shiyu and Alex S. Yu:
Speaking of fungi foraging around here, from WildWorld’s “Cool Stuff”:
Make a simple 8-page art journal from one piece of paper!
Make a 16-page journal from one piece of paper!
SOUNDINGS
Meditation #14, “Late Roses.” An especially nice one from Fog Chaser (on Substack). It’s accompanied by a poem, on the same page, by Joy Harjo, “Fall Song.” Also, check out Matt’s one-year celebration and back story.
Aikyo, performing “Cajita de musica” (Music Box). On hang (handpan), bells, flute, and cello.
Thanks for visiting! More next Saturday . . .
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