Behind the Scenes: November
November, what a doozy!
Your girl has been painstakingly going through processes, left, right and centre - from formally registering as a sole trader and doing all the required legal things, to launching this website, tackling SEO and setting up my new store page. That’s without even mentioning the process of setting up my new studio space and getting back into a regular and consistent creative practice. Yep, November 2025 sure has been a whole lot of wonderful nonsense.
Thankfully, following the processes for becoming a sole trader here in Aotearoa has been blessedly easy. The details are all outlined on government websites and the hardest thing about it is remembering all the passwords and details for each form. Aside from my terrible memory, it has been pleasantly simple to get it all up and running. As for the website...
All I can really say is: goodness me, people who can code and build their own websites? Good on them, for real. Your girl tuna? Not one of them. However, since Squarespace is fairly foolproof, and there’s loads of tutorials to watch and read through as you go through it - I reckon I’ve had a passable attempt at building an online presence here! Please, let me know what you think of this space in the comments!
Speaking of online presence - my Threads, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky accounts are all up and running, after a little attitude adjustment on my part. I’ve conceded that having an online presence beyond just this website is probably for the best - despite my constant desire to disappear into the forest and mountains to become a real-life hobbit hermit.
Alas, the Threads account has been created and to my surprise, I’ve found it to be a really wonderful community so far. There’s a really good amount of artists, writers and creatives using the space and the attitudes there have been vastly positive. Creatives supporting creatives in really beautiful ways and loads of encouragement to buy local and small, and a heartening amount of accounts denouncing gen-ai usage in creative spaces. Feels pretty good man!
On a more physical level, I’ve been unpacking all of my materials and equipment from the boxes they’ve resided in for the last three years. Now I’ve the space and work bench area: sculptures, zines and prints from my art school friends have found their new homes on my shelves, my paints, pencils, lino plates and tools have all found their new residences and perhaps most importantly, it feels good to spend time in the space I’ve created.
The lighting is good, the airflow is wonderful - it’s a little warm on hot days, but it’s nowhere near as bad as my old studio room back in Adelaide come summer, that’s for sure. I’ll always be grateful for our decision to move to Aotearoa, particularly here on the South Island where temperatures above 30 celcius are fairly rare.
As for the actual business of creation, I’ve taken a long hard look at myself over the last three years of hiatus. In that time I’ve barely picked up a pencil, rarely have I attempted to write anything more flowery than a shopping list, heck, I’ve barely written anything more than session plans for my home Dungeons and Dragons campaign! (Something which my pals have insisted is indeed creative work, from a certain point of view.)
However, in the last month, something has shifted - in fleeting moments of clarity and inspiration, I’ve pushed myself back into a creative mindset and almost tailored a process for myself. I see it as a gentle nudge to get me back on track, involving narrative, a reminder to embrace spontenaiety and allow myself to follow the currents, wherever the wind and whimsy blow.
The Secret Garden (2025)
Watercolour, Gouache and Ink on Cartridge Paper.
Short narrative is something I’ve begun to welcome, as a method to reconnect with my inner child, and a reminder to play and have fun with my work once more. I'm writing myself one to two paragraph stories at the moment, little vignettes of moments and people in cozy environments, inspired by the garden, fictional and non fictional inspirations and my own experiences of building and loving my own home. I then build from these vignettes and pull on the threads of emotion and imagery to inspire related works - and, so far, so good!
I’m pretty pleased to say that I have begun work on my first themed ‘drop’ or collection of works - based on a short tale of a (entirely fictional) character named Roseanna. The first of which is actually available as a digital PDF download on my store already! Please, have a sneaky looksee before the full drop (hopefully) goes live in the new year!
Much love and lots of little joys to you all,
nearlytuna.
- Follow the Whimsy!