Dear friends and supporters,
First, some news. In early December I’m going to host my first supporter meetup. I’ll send out a message to y’all with details. Okay, onward:
There is a feeling that I feel when I get a notification that someone has signed up to support me. It feels variously: Warm, tender, sad, abundant, scary. In my body I sense: tightness in my chest and throat. Warmth in my face. In my mind I think: Oh wow! And also: Oh no!
I believe this constellation of feelings, thoughts, and sensations, is what we call gratitude. It’s a new feeling for me, one I’ve been cultivating for the past 5 years or so. I’ve tried gratitude journals and meditations, with some success. Lately I simply try to stay with gratitude if it comes up. I find it very uncomfortable. There are a lot of sharp edges: Vulnerability, commitment, social anxiety, anxiety anxiety. Money stuff.
So, I am grateful for your support. Some of you I know; Hi old friends. Some of you I don’t. I’m very curious about you, Person from the Internet. What made you step up to support? Do you know how rare & special you are? Squirrel has 130,000 subscribers, but only about 40 or 50 folks have offered support. So mystery supporter, drop me a line if you like: [email protected]
A couple of months ago, I made zero dollars per month as an artist. I’m happy to say that I now make significantly more than zero dollars. The monthly members are the foundation of this support. Much to my astonishment we’re approaching $200 in support from members.
Squirrel and I also receive individual contributions from this platform, as well as Venmo and others. These are often mystery payments from people I’ve never met, often at odd hours. There’s usually a sweet note attached, like “For Squirrel wisdom.” These feel like mitzvahs from the Universe. A warm drop of rain on a summer night. Lovely. The payments are highly variable but from all sources I’m receiving about $300 a month in viewer support.
Wow. Neat.
I have a near term goal of reaching $600/month, which would allow me to survive with the art work and a part-time job (which would allow time for art).
I have been a full-time artist for the past six months, but my whimpering bank account tells me it is not sustainable. Pandemic unemployment briefly made it possible to make art full-time. The euro-style benefits train has ended. So in the coming weeks I’ll be signing on with a part-time gig to sustain myself, my puppets, and my dog.
I have a lot of dreams and hopes for Squirrel Dialogues. Here are some big ones:
To become a full-time artist so I can focus on trauma-informed art.
To have a budget so I can hire collaborators: Artists, mental health professionals, spiritual teachers, and so on.
To find a more sustainable platform than TikTok, which is notoriously unreliable for creators. My dream is to partner with PBS, just like my inspiration, Fred Rogers.
To help people meaningfully connect with one another, through peer counseling, discussion/activity groups, and so on.
To write a book.
In Squirrel’s paw prints I walk.
I am so grateful for your support.
With love—
Evan WL