Nadia's Digest #23 🧿 [February 2021]

Hey you,

It took me a few days extra to get this out but here we are in your inbox at last. How are you doing? I wish you’re feeling good and grounded, pursuing things that get you excited, with sufficient breaks to return to your peace.

A lover of learning, I’m practising quite a few things at the moment. TouchDesigner. Rollerskating. Academic writing. Tufting rugs. Perfecting my vegan energy ball recipe. But amongst the many things, the most difficult and important one I’m practising is showing up as myself (online).

As I take to writing what is only the 2nd edition of this new-newsletter, I’m met with some of the same resistance that made me quit it before. It’s not that I’m bored, or demotivated, or stuck. It’s my urge to take cover when feeling subpar; a flaw in my thinking that whispers it’s better not to show up at all than it is to show up as-is. On days I find it difficult to be with myself - the type of days this past month has been filled with - all I want to do is hide.

Yet every time I’m courageous enough to appear through the cracks, only light gets in. Reminding me that the world I now live in does not resemble the one my body is wired for; that this one holds perhaps plenty of space and wiggle room at the margins for my whole self to exist, to breathe, and to express.

I used to think of my best self as this performative version that’s positive, inspired, resilient, and generally easy to digest. Now I imagine her comfortable enough to show up simply as she is - tired, frustrated, sad, insecure, scared, doubtful - and brave enough to let others see her where she’s at as a raw snapshot in spacetime.

So here I am, a little up, a little down, struggling to find the excitement to propel me forward, exerting most my energy shifting negative inner dialogue, and making it through the days the best way I know how to with the heartening support of those I love.

I feel the need to affirm that I’m okay and not to worry. I just wanted to keep it real with you - YOU who decided to be on this list which means a lot to me, and some of you who have asked for more personal updates - because it’s reading reflections like these from others that I myself find strength, support, and solace in during these trying times.

Thank you for holding space x

Now scroll on down so I can share some nice things with you :)

The title says it all. This playlist is an ongoing curation of the tunes giving me life at the moment. I add a few songs per month across any genres so it’s a delightful and frantic mess. If the vibes are too fragmented for you on this one, I have a few other themed playlists on my account too! I hope you enjoy <3

For the next chapter of my creative tech learning journey, and inspired by studios like y=f(x) lab, Refik Anadol, Ouchhh, Encoded.studio, ANF, Variable, Waltz Binaire, and others, I’ve gotten it into my head that I’m going to learn TouchDesigner in pursuit of 3D data visualizations 🖱

If you have any recommended resources, mini-projects to practice on, or the patience to coach me through some of my learning curve, please reach out! I’m committing the next 4-6 weeks to learn and explore, and then making a decision about how deep to go.

Much love to y=f(x) lab for the support so far and inviting me to work with you! Thanks to encoded.studio for telling me about their experimental 3D projects and inspiring me for my upcoming thesis.

Below are some of the things I’ve made so far! I included URLs of the YouTube tutorials I used so you can maybe join me and go through them yourself - I’d love to see what you make if you do!

I’ve repurposed the ebook I did with AWWWARDS, Adyen, and Joel here into a series of Medium article so it can be a ‘living document’ I can edit and add to as I learn, develop new insights, and find better examples. The first 2 parts are now online and I’d love to hear your thoughts! I’m also considering creating an online course about this so I can scale the knowledge without doing the same workshop over and over again - I just have to get over myself and my camera-fright so maybe later in the year :)

Looking forward to this one! I’m very happy to have crossed paths with Stefan Leijnen and invite him as our first speaker of the year with AIxDesign. Claim your last-minute spot for this evening at 6PM CET over here to come learn & talk about creative computation with us 👩🏼‍🎨 including a small experimental meditation at the end

Woop, that’s it for February folks.

Sending much love out to wherever you are,

Nadia

To connect, reply to this mail or find me at:

nadiapiet.com | hello@nadiapiet.com | @nadiapiet