There is a place

For a quiet, creative space within Substack

Welcome to my wee corner of Substack. I am a seasonal artist living on the Isle of Arran, off the west coast of Scotland. I am the custodian of approximately two acres of land that includes a woodland, a meadow and my wee garden. I offer a seasonal book arts project for paid subscribers if you are interested and you can read more about that HERE. Grab a cuppa and let’s delve into our relationship with the shifting seasons…..

This is the second part of my short series looking at my online creative practice and what part, if any, it plays in a sense of community. The first piece focused on over two years running a wee seasonal creative community on Patreon. I called that piece ‘I couldn’t have known’. This piece focuses on my year (plus) on Substack and, more specifically, two seasons running a paid book arts project.

Let’s reflect on the entire Substack experience first. I have been writing since 2010 when I first joined Blogger. In 2013 I was commissioned to blog every day for a year about my life on a small Scottish island. The blog was called ‘Scottish island mum’ and it remains live as an archive. I then jumped across to wordpress and eventually, my own website. I let my website go some months ago as I felt that Substack filled that space really well. There is an interesting outcome for a start.

I have written over 75 pieces since April 2023 and it has quickly become the place I feel most comfortable laying down what I want to say. My focus is seasonal creativity and I am using this space as a place to give back to the arts - an industry that I have worked in my entire adult life. As a seasonal mixed media teaching artist I have fallen down endless beautiful creative rabbit holes inspired by the shifting seasons. My Substack is the place I can share all of that.

So, immediately we can see it has been a success as Substack must have created a platform that I feel comfortable within. Many of you might agree with that? My next question would be ‘is Substack a community?’ In comparing it as a site with Patreon it scores much higher on the community stakes as it has been set up to create just that. Patreon still feels like a place you go to follow one or two folk and not a place to meet other folk. You meet other folk on Substack. In the short time I have been on here there have been a lot of changes and, if I am honest, I still think there is room for more. However, it would have to be framed as ‘less is more’ as I feel a period of consolidation by

Substack

might be the order of the day. Like all platforms the changes come thick and fast in the first few years but I feel a gentle pause might be useful and a reflection on just what the space is about. What lies at the heart of Substack?

It is a place that encourages long form content in a virtual world where that is lacking. There are other platforms for long form content but this one feels the best, to me at least. The additon of Notes and Chat facilities have made it feel more like social media and, I think, has divided the community here on Substack. My absolute favourite bit about Substack is the restack button. It is on the pressing of this button that your embryonic community can begin especiallly if, like me, you are selective with hitting this button and always take the time to add a wee note about why you are sharing. I think Substack needs to focus on that methodology for creating a sense of community. As a platform it is growing so fast that any sense of community is now seriously challenged for many users and you see that beginning to filter through on Notes. On a personal level, however, I have found that careful use of the restack button has enabled me to start recognising individual writer’s voices and, beyond that, enabled me to build a small community within the larger platform. I then go on to recommend those folk and so connections are deepened. If you are interested in who I recommend you can find the list on my HOME page.

For a community to form a shared outlook can be very useful. One day I had a small idea so I floated it on Substack. The idea was to create book arts inspired by the different seasons. Perhaps, controversially, I choose NOT to make this a community project. This is a first for me. In my world making book art is a deeply personal creative journey and comparisons with others has a real danger of upsetting that journey. So, I have not enabled Chat but I like to think that there is comfort in the knowledge that others out there are on a similar creative journey and I have the honour of wandering alongside each person signed up for the project. We have just finished our first two seasons on this journey so what has it taught me so far….

• More folk want to make book arts than I thought would at such an early stage in the project.

• Folk are inspired by the changes the seasons presents us with.

• Vlogs are a popular delivery method as folk can access them at a time that suits them.

• Members don’t seem to mind me chatting away!

• We have time. A book a season is a good length of time for a creative project.

• I have understood the place of book arts in my world as I move into my next decade.

• I don’t need to know what others are doing.

• That this is a quiet space within a noisy world.

• That some members have commented and/or messaged to say how the project is unblocking their creative thinking and helping them find what is unique to them. This is a huge win.

• That it was a good idea.

Our book arts place feels very comfortable. Members have kept me in touch to the extent that I know some follow the project from start to finish while others bounce off a single creative idea and go off in their own direction and everything in-between. I love that. The book arts space is, absolutely, not a community. It is quiet, reflective and creative space where we can all just be ourselves. It is a personal journey that exists in a protected bubble but using the Substack platform as its way to deliver the project. For that, I am hugely grateful.

So is Substack a community is a complex question. I think the answer lies in how you access it. Find bits that work for you and ignore other bits. Be prepared to create a small community within a big (and growing) platform and connect with these folk regularly. Make these connections meaningful and lasting. Substack, by itself, has not created a community but, within it, you can.

I love my Patreon community and these folk know all about my entire creative journey and we are all invested in each other’s journeys. But I also love the quiet, personal space that Substack has enabled me to create. Long may it continue……. Interestingly, most members have stayed with me while others have moved off in search of other inspiration and new members have shuffled in. The live zooms in Patreon have, for sure, built the strong sense of community and without them in my paid Substack the feel is different, just as it should be. Substack feels more transient and that has been illustrated by folk coming and going but what is interesting to me is that some folk who moved on are already back. This indicates to me two things - the first is that the book arts project is speaking to folk and the second is that Substack (and its members) are still figuring stuff out and that is fine by me.

I will sign off with a wee gallery of the book arts project that began on July 1st this year

I dedicate this piece to all the members that have chosen to wander along with me for a while responding creatively to the changing seasons.