Ss Oo Mm Ee Dd A a Yy
LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
CONTENTS
14 38
44 58
70
E DITORI A L Alone Together
TR END S
Bread, Puzzles & Crafts
S T O RY Quarantine Hero
E DITORI A L All These Clothes and No One to Wear
I N T E RV I E W Tayler Ayers
82 102 114
122 CREDITS
E DITORI A L These Shoes Were Made For Staying Put
S T O RY Home Redefined
A RTICL E Stop and Smell the Roses
E DITORI A L New Normal
JESSICA LOHNIESS - model - Alone Together JORDAN LOHNIESS - model - Alone Together JORDAN VESCIO - photos - Home Redefined KENDRA FRANKLE - photos - Home Redefined EVERYTHING ELSE COURTESY OF NINA SONE
SARAH DIAZ - photos - Quarantine Hero TAYLER AYERS - photos - Interview MAIRIN SONE - photos - These Shoes, New Normal RUDY SONE - model - New Normal
E DITOR’ S L ETTER
HEY THERE SOMEDAY BELIEVERS,
Let me start off by saying thank you! Thank you for continually supporting Someday Magazine in this increasingly digital age. We appreciate you and couldn’t have made it this far without you! This edition is an exploration of light in the darkness, the dichotomy of opposing forces. I wanted this to be reflective of our society today but not in a negative way. We already have enough panic-inducing fear-mongering media out there, just take a look at the six o’clock news. I intended for this to be a sarcastic, satirical commentary on the matters we are currently facing. The overarching idea of each article and editorial is infused with humor, but if you take an even closer look, there are little nuggets of wit, to put a smile on your face. In creating this issue, my goal was to lightheartedness in these dark and confusing times. In times like these, I think it’s especially important to laugh and find enjoyment in the little things, so, without further ado, please enjoy this month’s issue of Someday Magazine and for God’s sake laugh! Even if it is at my expense! LOVE YOUR CHARMING, HILARIOUS, AND INCREDIBLY HUMBLE EDITOR, NINA SONE
Also, don’t forget to accompany your page-flipping with this issue’s Spotify playlist to get the full effect!
Des o la tion
.
.
.
a state of complete emptiness or destruction; anguished misery or loneliness
14
A T
LONE OGETH ER
JUST YOU AND ME AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE DESOLATE WASTE LAND HOLD MY HAND TOGETHER ALONE ALONE TOGETHER
38
S AV E I T S O M E DA QUARANTINE TRENDS
BAKING BREAD............40 PUZZLES.........................54 GETTING CRAFTY.........96
FOR Y
40
BA K I NG BR EA D Quarantine’s Tastiest Trend
M
indlessly swiping through Instagram, for what reason? Who’s to say? It’s our only connection to the outside world, but all of the outside world is inside. So what could we possibly see on Instagram that would tame our boredom or aid our temperament? But then you see it, a lovely flour-dusted sourdough, then a perfect loaf of banana bread, then an artful piece of toast. IT WAS LIKE OVERNIGHT; YOUR FEED TURNED INTO A PROVINCIAL BOULANGERIE. So what’s the deal? Why is everybody making bread?
GRANDMA MCGREGOR’S PUMPKIN BREAD • • • • • • •
2 cups SUGAR 4 cups FLOUR 1/2 tsp BAKING SODA 1 tsp SALT 1 tsp BAKING POWDER 1 tsp CINNAMON 1 tsp NUTMEG
• • • • • • •
1 tsp 1/2 tsp 1 cup 1 can 2/3 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup
ALL SPICE CLOVES COOKING OIL PUMPKIN COLD WATER CHOPPED NUTS CHOCOLATE CHIPS
• Mix all dry ingredients and make a well and pour in cooking oil, water, and pumpkin • Blend with a mixer on low then add in eggs one at a time, beat after each one • Add nuts and chocolate chips and pour into greased pans • Bake 1 hour at 375, cool 10 mins before removing from pans
Probably one of the strangest phenomena to come out of quarantine, but it probably has something to do with the word ‘unprecedented.’ Ahh, the most vile word in the English language, right behind the word ‘moist,’ of course. In times of uncertainty, we always look at the past as a source of reassurance and contentment. IT’S HOMEY AND TASTES LIKE COMFORT, AND WE COULD ALL USE SOME COMFORT RIGHT ABOUT NOW. I SUGGEST WE ALL WRAP OURSELVES IN THE SAFETY OF A NICE WARM BAGUETTE AND HAVE A GOOD CRY. Not like an overly sad cry, just kind of like a calming cry and then have a bit of a nap. A metaphorical baguette or a literal one, either way, I say go for it. There’s something about bread that connects you to simpler times, heritage, and tradition. When I think of a good loaf of bread, my mind is transported to a tiny village in Southern Italy circa 1955. The tiniest dollop of a woman, no younger than 70, kneading dough as the golden, morning sun creeps through the cracks of the broken shutters and spills onto the weathered table, warming the wrinkled cheeks of the darling Nona. Baking bread as she did every Sunday as her mother had done before her and her mother had done before her.
As an avid baker, I know my way around an oven, but there’s something about quarantine (the monotony, the lack of joy, the plague of bordem) that has drained every last ounce of motivation from my body. I have no desire to do anything, not even things I usually enjoy, you know back in the real world, not this hellish alternate reality we seem to be stuck in right now. The idea of baking bread began to feel like a chore; you have to take everything out, then put everything away when you’re done and not to mention the DISHES! So I kept putting it off, for Someday in the future when I felt like it. But these days’ someday’s’ come around less than usual because our concept of time is all out of whack. The only thing I can definitively say is that it is today, and today is the same as yesterday, but I don’t see the gleam of a tomorrow on the horizon. Fortunately, in the spirit of the seemingly productive quarantine ‘thrivers,’ I FINALLY LET SOMEDAY BE TODAY. I figured it was time to see what all the fuss was about. I decided to choose a quick bread rather than a yeast bread because like I said I’ve become incredibly lazy, and do not have the willpower to wait for the little baby yeast to, like me, eat a bunch of sugar and get all fat, much less brave the grocery store to buy yeast in the first place. So a sweet autumnal pumpkin bread it is, another against the grain decision, but it’s my favorite so Spring will just have to deal with it. As I was baking, I began to realize why this had become such a sweeping trend. For the first time throughout this entire quarantined experience, this was the first time I felt content. I wasn’t tired, sluggish, or bored; I was enjoying a long-forgotten something from my past B.C. (before corona). And even though I forgot to add the baking powder, it was still delicious.
I WOULD RATE THIS QUARANTINE TREND 9/10.
44
Q UA R A N T I N E HERO
Courtesy of Sarah Diaz
These unprecedented times have built a new breed of hero. No longer is that word reserved for a Marvel comic book character. It’s for the moms, dads, teachers, and medical workers who are committing, seemingly small, acts of heroism every day. We wanted to let you know, your actions have not gone unnoticed, and we thank you for all that you’ve done. In this edition of QUARANTINE HERO, we take a look at photographer Sarah
Diaz as she documents a day in the life of her mother in Puerto Rico.
All Photos Courtesy of Sarah Diaz
Ser padre durante esta crisis no es fácil. TE CONVIERTES EN MUCHAS COSAS QUE NO ERAS ANTES DE ESTA PANDEMIA COMO UN MAESTRO. Muchos de nuestros padres ahora tienen que entretener constantemente en diferentes maneras a sus hijos, para que no se queden mirando frente a una pantalla todo el día. Ahora tienen que cocinar tres comidas al día y probablemente darles bocadillos a sus hijos.
Being a parent during this crisis isn’t easy. YOU BECOME MANY THINGS THAT YOU WEREN’T BEFORE THIS PANDEMIC LIKE A TEACHER. Many of our parents now have to be constantly entertaining their children, so they don’t fry their brains in front of a screen. They now have to cook three meals a day and probably give their children snacks.
Una cosa que realmente aprecio de los padres es que muchos salen y ARRIESGAN SUS VIDAS Y VAN A TRABAJAR O VAN A COMPRAR COMIDA PARA EL RESTO DE SU FAMILIA. La semana pasada pude salir, y decidí unirme a mi madre al supermercado. Vi una gran fila fuera de Costco, mi madre me dijo que había sido peor, y que tenía que esperar bajo el sol por una o dos horas, tal vez solo 20 minutos si tenía suerte.
One thing that I really appreciate from the parents is that many go out and RISK THEIR LIVES AND GO TO WORK OR GO AND BUY FOOD FOR THE REST OF THEIR FAMILY. Last week I was able to go out, and I decided to join my mom to the supermarket. I saw a big line outside of Costco, my mom told me it’d been worst, and she has to wait under the sun for maybe an hour or two, maybe just 20 minutes if she gets lucky.
All Photos Courtesy of Sarah Diaz
All Photos Courtesy of Sarah Diaz
Ese día fuimos a dos supermercados porque no pudo encontrar alimentos con proteínas en el primero. Esto nos llevó toda la tarde. Desde mi experiencia de estar un día con mi madre, UNA VEZ MÁS ESTOY AGRADECIDA POR ELLA por salir y esperar afuera, por buscar comida para satisfacer no solo a mi familia sino a los demás.
That day we went to two supermarkets since she wasn’t able to find protein foods in the first one. From my experience of being out with my mom for one day, I AM ONCE AGAIN THANKFUL FOR HER for going out and waiting outside, for looking for food to satisfy not only my family but for others.
54
PUZZL E S Quarantine’s Hottest Comodity
A
n activity chiefly enjoyed by children and the geriatric has become the latest quarantine craze. Puzzles, a strange breed of recreation, neither game nor toy, for they lack the action and excitement of both. So why now is the puzzle finally getting the recognition it so rightfully deserves? What is drawing everyone to underrated past-time? ONE COULD SAY, I WAS PUZZLED.
We are in the midst of a new renaissance, the great puzzle boom of 2020. They’re at the top of our Amazon searches and are becoming just as difficult to keep on the shelves as the ever holy toilet paper roll. This is because our minds are craving stimulation; there are only so many weeks one can veg out on the couch all day and binge on Netflix. Our brains are dangling out on the precipice, and puzzles are the only thing holding it back from falling and being nothing but mush. AND MUCH LIKE PUTTING ON A PAIR OF PANTS THAT ZIPS, COMPLETING A PUZZLE MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’VE ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING, it gives you the sense of achievement and worth that has been lacking from your tedious quarantine days.I personally love puzzles, every summer vacation, I would complete one. A, no doubt, 20-year-old puzzle left in the beach rental, every spare moment sat at the table trying to finish it before the week was up.
One summer the house didn’t have a puzzle, I learned my lesson that year, so ever since I brought my own, packed in the Toyota Sienna along with the beach towels. But like with baking, I had no inclination to do it. I guess quarantine has made me less of a doer and more of a sleeper. But after countless days spent staring at a screen for hours on end, I welcomed the idea of an analog activity. So I pulled the dusty box from the top of the closet, and I set it up at the dining room table, A.K.A my classroom. I nearly finished the whole thing in one day, but since that day, it’s been sitting idle, another lull in my motivation. The subjects of puzzles are often perfect Vermont autumn days, quaint seaside cottages, and snow-filled winter wonderlands. And now more than ever, are used as a form of escapism. Allowing the mind to wander down the charming country road, just for a moment, and forget that you’ve been staying at the same four walls for over two months now. And for that fact, I CHOSE A TROPICAL OASIS AS MY PUZZLE ESCAPADE, AND I’VE BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW I CAN “BLUE SKIDOO” INTO IT. So I can feel the hot sand in between my toes as the salty breeze blows through my hair and the melodic cry of the seagulls above melding with the symphonic sounds of waves crashing ashore creating my ideal concerto. The feeling of the pieces perfectly fitting into one another was oddly satisfying and soothing; let the calm wash over me like the foaming, aqua waves in the puzzle. Although the puzzle remains unfinished,
I WOULD RATE THIS QUARANTINE TREND A SOLID 8.5/10.
A LL TH ESE CLOTH E S A N NO ONE TO W 58
Hol low
D WEA R
How your party clothes feel when they can’t go out
.
ZOOM-TERVIEW
A Zoom interview; the same thing as FaceTime, but has become the ‘quarantine standard.’
70
TAYLER AYERS
Courtesy of Tayler Ayers
I had the pleasure of interviewing 26-year-old SCAD student and artist Tayler Ayers. His vast array of work ranges from t-shirts to brick walls all backed behind the ideas of honesty, transparency, and relatability. He’s incredibly outspoken and captivates you with his realistic world view and cool nonchalance. What else can I say, other than TAYLER IS TAYLER.
HOW DO YOU THINK QUARANTINE HAS AFFECTED YOUR CREATIVE OUTPUT? IS IT HARD FOR YOU TO FIND MOTIVATION OR INSPIRATION? So I’m kinda in a different position with this stuff because what I do, like what people see on Instagram, it’s my job, you know. What I mean is since I work for myself and I like don’t say this in a cliche way, I literally can’t afford to not be inspired in a way. It’s like I’m either having to ship out something, or create something for this, or work on something, so it’s definitely played a role in it for sure. But I kinda had to take a little bit of time, and I really started thinking; I was like what would people want to see? I was like I know that everyone is online they’re in a class, but they also have like a YouTube file pulled up or like their Instagram and they’re swiping through it, you know, so it’s like everyone’s online at once and I was like what would I want to see?
So I really started like, I wouldn’t say I changed anything, but I kind of started to really think about, what are the proper messages that I want to be putting out right now? What are things that are going to inspire me, make someone laugh, or positively take someone’s mind off things comparatively to like some of the stuff I might have done in the past? But, I realize that everything is super tense around us right now, and I’m very aware of the fact that like people tune into what I’m doing and respond to what I do. I don’t know if that’s the message, like kind of on “attack mode,” I don’t know if that’s the message I want to put out. So I’ve really just been revamping, like how do I recontextualize and synthesize what I’m feeling but put it in art and then post it. That’s how it’s really affected me, it’s really forced me to like pivot and truthfully respond in a mature way, instead of being like here’s some dark meme about corona.
All Photos Courtesy of Tayler Ayers
IS THAT WHAT YOU HOPE PEOPLE TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR WORK, A MORE POSITIVE OUTLOOK?
Is that what you hope people take away from your work, a more positive outlook? Yeah, but it’s also just like honest, I would say, naturally, positivity is always present in my work, but It’s just like transparency. How do I explain it? I was talking to my friend last night, and she was like, what is your “why,” what is the why behind your stuff. And I’m like, I’m just honest, the stuff that I post its stuff that I go through, stuff that I talk about, it’s literally stuff that I’ve dealt with on a personal level. I just kind of format it an art or design way, you know? To where it doesn’t come across as like a document, but it more so comes across as something like fun and digestible that you read. Like I’ll give you a perfect example, I’m doing this release, the 20th of this month and I have two paintings, a print and like a T-shirt that comes with it its called “How to be Healthy.” and it’s literally 11 steps that I came up with. There’s nothing new about any of these ideas, like at all, but it’s just things that I have benefited from, and I was like I bet other people can benefit from it too, you know? So it’s realworld things, just put in the context of art.
OTHER THAN THE FINANCIAL ASPECT, WHAT DRIVES YOU TO CREATE?
I love that you said it like that...because when I was going through SCAD, I didn’t see a lot of things I can relate to artistically. I saw a lot of really great technical work, really great gallery work perse, I saw some really impressive industry standard stuff. But I never saw anything that was super relatable like it was all way up there, and very like, you have to take this class and this class and talk to this person and intern here and intern here. For me personally, I don’t operate that way. What inspires me to make stuff, if you take creativity as a whole and you put like art and then design, whether its fashion design, or painting, sculpture, or accessory design. I think we, as people, we as creatives specifically are so accustomed to only making stuff for a certain season. Only making things for a certain month, just putting stuff out to get a response, this turn around rate where there are no products with an honest aspect to it. So I realized that I want to create something that’s 100% Tayler good or bad and be incredibly honest and transparent. With what I do, I’m driven by honesty, that’s what I tell, man it’s so funny I always go back to my relationships.
So it’s like I’m very upfront from the get-go. I’m like what are you looking for, what are you not looking for? If this works cool. If it doesn’t, that’s cool too. And that’s with anything though, that’s like with my work. It’s like none of my work is up for interpretation, I tell you exactly what i'm thinking. So I’m just really driven by honesty and, especially, online, I think that a lot of our generation and the generation younger there’s a lot of people searching for new art forms and new people to follow who they can actually trust. There is this deep desire, especially in the younger generation, for honesty. There is a deep feeling of distrust like, ‘oh, I don’t know if I can trust this,’ and ‘I don’t know if I can trust that’ and trying to figure yourself out. and I was like regardless if you’d like me or not if you like my work or not. I just want it, to be honest, that’s what I want it to be, and anything more than that, I'm like really not that interested in so, damn yeah, that’s a really drives me is being very open and very honest and very relatable and kind of just down to earth, so yeah.
Courtesy of Tayler Ayers
WHAT IS YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS LIKE? ARE YOU EMOTIONALLY DRIVEN, IS IT LIKE YOU FEEL IT AND DO IT IN THE MOMENT OR DO YOU MORE SO PLAN IT AND SKETCH IT OUT?
If I’m doing a release, I have to be a bit more strategic with that, because that involves the business side of it. Like sourcing the right shirt, spending money upfront, and there not being a guarantee that you’re going to get that money back. So I have to be very specific with that stuff, sourcing the best possible products for the best possible price-like get it in my budget. That’s more like the practical side of me, and then the emotional side of me is like... some people are like what are you inspired by, who are your favorite artists, I’m like dude, my favorite artists aren’t even painters. My three favorite artists are, and I would consider this person an artist like 100%, Steve Jobs, John Mayer, Kanye West are my three favorite people. I have Kanye and Mayer tattoos and have a steve jobs poster; my point is with that, im inspired by genuinely almost everything I interact with. So I’m always in this headspace where I’m allowing myself to be open to energies or words or conversations or graphics that I might see like throughout the day. And then sometimes an idea will hit me, and I’ll just execute it and then sometimes it won’t. And I’m kinda like okay is this really a good idea or is it just something wild, but also sometimes I’ll just open up an illustrator file. Then whatever comes to my mind, I really try to flesh it out visually like actually draw it out or a sketch it out or time it out and whatnot, and kinda go from there. Yeah, I don’t force a lot of things,I’m not really built that way, and I know it sounds super weird, but people are like what’s your creative schedule like? Do you do this, and this? And I’m just like ahhhhh. I have a very high standard for myself, ah how do I say this? Im personally passed the point creatively where I feel the need to wake up and start working at 7 a.m. then I’m done at 5. I have a system that works for me, and I kind of just follow, my own plan of whatever I needed to take on for the day, I don’t force things, so yeah.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE?
Oooooo man, it’s just minimal. It’s just to the point; it is what it is, that’s how I would describe it. It’s just to the point. Literally, it is black and white, and what you see is what you see. And yeah, it’s just minimal, it’s the most extreme form of minimalism, I call it essentialism. Minimalism is doing a lot with very little; I think essentialism is an extreme version of that, where it’s like only having around me what is absolutely necessary and nothing else. So that’s the approach I take to my whole life, the way I dress, and my work. So if it doesn’t really have a function, I don’t place a lot of value in it.
WHY DO YOU ONLY CREATE IN BLACK AND WHITE?
It’s very to the point. Black and white in color theory is the greatest contrast with any two colors. Black has a psychology of weight, so anything you put in black is going to visually come off harder than something in blue. But, also, I’m adopted. Both my parents are white, so I’ve always grown up in this kind of, too black for the white world and too white for the black world. I’m not going to be like, I’ve had a life full of trauma, but what I will say is that I didn’t really look at life through the lens of like everything was beautiful colors and flowers. Man, I always really saw the facts, like I always really saw the black and white about stuff. And quite frankly I’m actually trash at mixing colors, I got a C in Color Theory because I tried to make everything in black and white. It’s also a really good way to hide mistakes, the amount of paintings I’ve sold where I made a mistake, and you would never know because I just black it out. Maybe it’s partially because im trying to be cheap and I don’t want to go rebuy materials so I’ll just black something out but, also it gets the point across really well. Black and white are also classic. Black and white in any industry, any context never go out of style. And I really want my work to be timeless, so why would I not use those elements then, you know? Ooo! I know one big thing, sometimes I feel like with artwork that has color in it, is that just solely because it has color people like ‘OH MY GOSH the emotions, that’s beautiful, that’s like so pretty, and and it’s so like, it’s just so colorful and has so much soul.’ and I feel like once you reach a certain point creatively, you’re able to separate yourself from that and look at the concept behind something and really look at the subject matter and what’s being said. Colors and beauty, it doesn’t hold a lot of weight in my world. I’m never like blown away by it, I’m like ‘oh, okay, it’s pretty.” you know? The stuff that really gets me is like the subject matter, the content , the narrative behind it. So basically, I was like I ‘ma do everything in black and white. Therefore I’ve got to make the meat of my work, so strong like I have to make it so strong. So you’re only focused on the content, and there’s no other fluff around, so people are gonna be like nah, this is good, or this is bad. You’re not indifferent about it, and that’s what I really want.
OF THE PEOPLE MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, WHY IS IT THAT YOU LOOK UP TO THEM?
I mean, Jobs, for one, is just someone who saw the reality, that he was on the same level as Einstein or Beethoven or Tesla, and not in this arrogant way. They’re all human, so I can make an impact as great as him. I really appreciate his honesty, persistence, and commitment to quality, I really appreciate that and living a life full of passion. There’s this quote, he’s like I wake up, and I ask myself in the mirror if I were to die today, would this be the last thing I would want. Would I want to live my life the way I’m living it right now, anytime the answer was no more than like four or five times I knew I had to make a change. And that was a big thing for me because I’m living my dream right now, it’s super interesting being in school still and like working on projects and not making stuff for a portfolio. I’m like nah, I’m already working, so it’s like I’m genuinely living my dream. I have goals, and I want to expand upon it. WHEN SOMEONE’S LIKE ‘OH COULD YOU DIE RIGHT NOW KNOW YOU LIVED A MEANINGFUL LIFE,’ AND I’M LIKE YEAH 100%, LIKE 100%, LIKE 100%! I COULD LITERALLY DIE, YOU COULD BE THE LAST PERSON I TALK TO, I’M BEING SERIOUS. So I get to wake up, I get chills thinking about it, but I get to wake up and be passionate about what I do and like not have to go and clock in somewhere. I’m living my dream, so it’s like, nah man, I’m happy. Yeah, I have bad days too, but I’m happy about that stuff.
And the Kanye thing man Kanye’s just Kanye, the dude’s just crazy man. I think for me like why Kanye was and still is a huge inspiration for me is because, like I said, I didn’t have any older siblings. I didn’t really have any black people who I looked up to you, or I feel like I could relate to. And I was also playing tennis growing up, so I was already in like a very white world, like a very nonblack world. But when I first saw Kanye wearing like pink Polos, he was a rapper, but doing all this stuff that was super against the grain. I was very drawn to that. I also just love how he doesn’t care, yeah there are some things that Kanye’s done that I haven’t agreed with one hundred percent but like Kanye is Kanye. THAT WOULD BE A SENTENCE THAT I WOULD LOVE FOR SOMEONE TO SAY ABOUT ME, TAYLER IS TAYLER LIKE I WOULD LOVE THAT! Good or bad, I would love that. A lot of his work has been super important to me. I’ll also say its super inspiring to see a rapper who’s now a billionaire who has real estate, that’s so cool to me. One hundred percent, I’m trying to be the first artist on like some Bezos level, you know? How cool that’d be! It’s always been super inspiring to me.
John Mayer is someone who I really related a lot with, my sophomore year. I saw him at Music Midtown perform live, and it changed everything for me. Continuum’s probably my second favorite album of all time. There was a lot of stuff that he talked about when he was my age and younger that he was going through, and I really related to it. Him being at Berklee and being like, ‘yeah, I would stay up all night writing songs and sleep through classes. Everyone thought I was crazy, but I knew I was onto something.’ With me, if someone were to walk past my seat whenever I’m in class, I listen enough to where I can keep my financial aid, and that’s that, I tap out. I’m on YouTube, or Tumblr or drawing, or placing an order or accepting a commitment, but that’s just how I work. What I’m saying, in the context of school, if someone’s like ‘come here and present here and then make stuff to please a professor.’ Like I’m not built that way, I’ll solely just like not fulfill a project requirement if I don’t want to, I’m just wired that way. It’s like nah bro, I’m good I’m 26. I’m not tryna please anyone anymore. Just the way John talks about a lot of stuff, you know he did this really great speech at Oxford Union, he made this really great point where he was like ‘I realized when I got to Berklee what I wanted to do, I want to be the best guitar player ever.’ And he was like ‘when you get to Berklee or any school where everyone is going for the same thing you’re going for, and everyone is just as good if not 10x better than you.’ And this is similar to SCAD too,
All Photos Courtesy of Tayler Ayers
‘if you’re the best at that one thing, your only fans are fans of that sport,’ that blew my mind. Then he was like ‘I realized I didn’t want to be the best guitar player in the world. I wanted to be listenable. The middle of my first semester at Berklee, I realized that I didn’t need to be in college anymore.’ For me, I was getting like a lot of shade from a lot of painting majors because I was like selling work, but like I wasn’t a painting major and whatnot. It started to mess with me a little bit, and then I was like I DON’T REALLY CARE ABOUT BEING THE BEST ARTIST IN THE WORLD. I JUST WANT TO BE RELATABLE. That was my thing. I love that my only audience isn’t just fellow artists because, for me, I wasn’t born into this art world, I played tennis and football and stuff like that, so it’s like I just want to be relatable. So that’s what I’m trying to brand, yo it’s like it’s literally just Tayler here. It’s not this; sitting in my room, no one can ever talk to me. It’s like I trip on the Savannah bricks too, you know what I mean? Like I’m literally just a person. I just want to be relatable, and then that gave me the freedom to really express myself. And then just kind of what I learned through SCAD and a little bit on my own, was kind of how to present that in like an art context, to make it a bit more digestible instead of being like ‘hey here’s my blog post,’ which is cool but it’s just not my thing.
Mint
The condition of your shoes because, lately your footwear of choice are fuzzy socks.
82
TH E WER STAY
S E SHOE S E M A DE FOR Y I NG PUT
RED LIGHT
GREEN LIGHT GO
BUT SOCIETY SAYS NO
96
GETTI NG CRA FTY Quarantine’s calmest activity
T
extile crafts have long been associated with women, especially elderly ones. I think we’re beginning to run into a theme here; every trend thus far has had linkages to seniors. What is it about Coronavirus that has turned everyone into old people? It’s most likely the house-bound nature of our current existence. Often being regarded, because of the way I dress and the activities I enjoy, as a grandma, I see no issue in this, and I’m glad that people are starting to realize that old people are much cooler than young people. But anyhow, What’s making everyone so craft happy? Where’s this resurgence coming from?
Other than the financial aspect of currently being unemployed, an even more significant downside, the social aspect is completely missing from our lives. With the heart wrenching, lack of hot workplace gossip, a sizable space has freed up in our brains. With all that room up there, long-forgotten projects and hobby experimentations have made their way back to the forefront. So now’s the time to dig out the art supplies you bought three years ago when you were going to take up watercolor but never touched once. It’s like the second wave of the late nineteenth century Arts and Crafts movement. But unlike the original, most people are only returning to these handicrafts to stave off boredom and not a revolt against mechanization, a Rage Against the Machine if you will. Typically a communal activity, engaging in fiber art, seems too melancholic when done alone. SO POUR YOURSELF A GLASS OF WINE, ZOOM WITH YOUR LADIES, AND HAVE A REGULAR, VIRTUAL STITCH AND BITCH. And oh boy, do we have a lot to bitch about these days, sans the usual tea about Karen in accounting.
So for my get crafty moment, I chose to embroider, something I picked up a couple of years ago but as of late haven’t had the time to enjoy. Well, there’s no time like the present, when there seems to be nothing but time. Like time is suspended and its perpetually 2 p.m. But as you’re probably tired of hearing my say, it’s not the time that is discouraging me from taking up beloved activities again, it’s the desire, or lack thereof, I should say. My spark has burned out, and the ember-ed me cares to do nothing other than binge-watch 30 Rock. But then I realized those two activities aren’t mutually exclusive; I can partake in a centuries-old tradition while also seeing what crazy things Liz Lemon gets up to. Once I rounded season 3, I realized how at peace I was; it’s like for the first time in a long time, I was in control of something. The world is a frightening place these days, there’s so much I can’t do, not just in terms of going places beyond my driveway, but in a broader sense of feeling powerless and completely helpless. But this, embroidering, this is the one this you can do. IT’S EASY TO QUESTION YOURSELF AND EVERYTHING YOU DO NOWADAYS, BUT NOT WITH THIS, I KNOW WHAT I’M DOING, AND WHEN I’M WRONG, I CAN SIMPLY PULL UP THE STITCHES AND START OVER. All my worries and swirling anxieties were subdued by the simultaneously mindless and yet mindful, repetitious motion. Also, the tactile quality of a handicraft was a refreshing change of pace in our increasingly digital world. A tangible piece of art that, unlike bread, will last longer than 24 hours, so
I WOULD RATE THIS QUARANTINE TREND 9.5/10.
Home
the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household
102
H R
OM E E DEFI NE D
Courtesy of Jordan Vescio
Quarantine has forced many back into their childhood homes. Photographers Jordan Vescio and Kendra Frankle were asked to document this and focus on how quarantine may have shifted how they view their homes and if the current situation has alowed them to appreciate things that take for granted or are blind to normally.
JORDAN VESCIO During quarantine, I found myself captive within the walls of my childhood home. It was odd. I had spent almost two years away at college, and it was not in the plans to be back so soon, not that I didn’t miss my family’s cooking... that I missed quite a bit. BUT I STARTED TO REALIZE LITTLE THINGS IN MY HOUSE THAT I DIDN’T NECESSARILY THINK MADE IT “HOME” TO ME UNTIL I CAME BACK. We have this downstairs bathroom with gorgeous old yellow tiles lining the walls that always gets the best light. I was in there fixing my hair and turned and saw that my dad had draped the shower curtains so that they could dry. The light was perfect, so I snapped a photo.
Courtesy of Jordan Vescio
When I left college to come home... I kind of killed my plant. Poor thing. So I immediately went to a store and bought some more so that I could tend to them every other day. Again, sort of adding to my new routine. They are really healthy and have definitely given me an appreciation for those with green thumbs.
I’ve been documenting photos for my visual anthropology class to archive my own personal experience with the pandemic and social distancing. Every day I wear a funky pair of earrings so that I feel “ready” for class. Since I didn’t have to leave to attend it, adding something like this has sculpted a routine you could say. My favorite pair are cowboy hat earrings! I’ve also picked up skateboarding. Now, I am nowhere close to doing tricks (I would break my ankles), but it’s a fun little new hobby my friend and I picked up so that we could learn something new together. This quarantine hasn’t been the easiest, but I will say it has helped me lift up my head to new possibilities around me.
It was weird; I HAD LIVED HERE MY WHOLE LIFE AND NEVER REALLY TOOK A SECOND TO JUST LOOK AT MY SURROUNDINGS. LIKE REALLY LOOK. This also happened when I walked into my Mom’s sunroom. She has this floral rocking chair in there that she used to rock me in when I was little. It was nice to go in and just sit there and read.
KENDRA FRANKLE
Courtesy of Kendra Frankle
Moving back to my childhood home in Portland, Oregon, has been, well, rainy. In the 2.5 months, I’ve been here; it’s been dark and rainy 90% of the day. The last 2 hours of daylight are my favorite, that’s when the sun comes out. IT FILLS MY HOUSE WITH A GLORIOUS GLOW OF WARMTH. When I moved to Savannah for school, I took advantage of all the warm sunny days, being home, I’ve learned to appreciate and grasp onto any moment of light I get. I welcome the 2 hours of sun with open arms.
Courtesy of Kendra Frankle
Courtesy of Kendra Frankle
My downstairs bathroom is another space in my house that I never gave any attention to. When I was in high school, my uncle had sent me two boxes full of darkroom equipment; it has been packed away in my garage until now. My bathroom was the perfect windowless space to use as a darkroom. I never thought I’d be so thankful for a bathroom before.
(S (S
114
P) R I N G P) R I N G IT’S FOR YOU
I
t was the best of times; it was the worst of times... just kidding, scratch that first part. I think even Dickens would agree these aren’t the most ideal of situations. The stay home initiative has you locked in with your family 24/7 with no escape, pajamas have become the new uniform, and Costco is no longer a fun place to go. It’s easy to lose yourself in times like these, much like how we lose track of the days of the week. And color seems to be draining from your life, faster than the battery power of your laptop. It’s important to recognize that JUST BECAUSE YOUR WORLD HAS STOPPED DOESN’T MEAN THE WORLD HAS STOPPED. Springtime flowers are blooming, and thank god they are. The reemergence of beautiful, vivid colors and sweet, dewy fragrances should be thought of as a reminder that life isn’t over, just like the flowers, the time will come again for society to blossom and thrive in the warm sunshine. This, of course, is easier said than done, the computer is no longer just a device for entertainment; it’s our last remaining link to the outside world.
ST OP
A ND SM ELL TH E ROSES
The entire day is wasted away in front of the despondent glow of the monitor: school is online, homework is digital, hanging out with friends is virtual. So If there were ever a time to unplug, this is it. It’s essential to get out of your own head and appreciate the world around you. Whether the expanse of your world is acres of farmland or a couple foot fire escape, it’s vital to breathe deep and let the fresh air purify your lungs and your thoughts and let the negativity wash away with your exhalation. Nature is reaching out to us, sending messages in the wind along with the fallen blossom petals, we just have to be susceptible to receive it, you know, crawling out of bed and putting your Netflix binge on pause. This is a call to optimism. This is a call to happiness. This is a call to action! Literally, movement helps get those endorphins going to boost your mood. It’s easy to get lost in a downward spiral of depression when your worldview consists only of the same four walls. But we can’t let these dreadful circumstances get the better of us. So let the bright, golden sun and the happy little clouds be a guide for your disposition, and cheer up buttercup!
SUGGESTIONS FOR SOMEDAY
• Put on a pretty spring dress and twirl around in the grass • Scavenger hunt quarantine edition • Draw a smile on your mask • Lay down and watch the clouds go by • Have a picnic
School
The place you used to make every excuse not to go, but now there’s no where you’d rather be
122
NE
W NOR M A L
SO THIS IS ZOOM ALONE IN MY ROOM HOW IS THIS SCHOOL WHO KNEW IT COULD BE SO CRUEL I MAK E MY COMPLAINTS OUT TO WHOM?
BAKING BREAD
CL A S S OF 2 02 0