Ok folks, confession time. Let's dissect the past 4 years where I have not blogged, and why.
I started "Everyone's Auntie Whisky" back when I had too much time on my hands, and as with the launch of my new logo, website, sellable art, I felt my blog also needed a unique angle. I wanted blogging to feel light-hearted and yet informative. Something that had a clear point of view (mine, obviously) and yet had the ability to make people laugh a little.
The first edition is no lie either, I truly used to hold the welder title amongst my school friends, like some super secretive code that no one could break. There was also the actual title Auntie being thrown around with my name, I'm sure partly due to ageing into my 30s era, but also a little self expressed. If you've ever seen me host a show, I often use the analogy of a Scottish family gathering, describing myself as:
"the weird aunt that every family has... The one with questionable dress sense, interesting dance moves and way too much cleavage" - trademarked Whisky Falls 2019-present ;)
And so, while I still will absolutely answer any of your "Agony Aunt" questions, I need to stop relying on other people to create content. I need to note what was happening then.
5 years later, I can not only see but also admit, that I had a case of writer's block. Looking for a reason to express myself through a pastime I have always loved when no urge came to me, I found a way to connect to it through answering questions and writing love letters. Don't get me wrong, I stand by those 2020 choices, and I still very much find joy in writing my particular brand of letters. I'm not even worried about pushing the sale of them now, rather enjoyment comes to me in the gifting them to my community (but hey, if you want your own one, you can still buy them of course!)
My love letters (like all my art) are curated. The writing style of all 3 themes was drafted, workshopped, thought out and then crafted. I played with the power of 3, metaphors, alliteration, grammatical and punctuation choices to ensure they would be read with the right energy for each style. I had a video call session where I basically talked my ideas at my good friend Hunter, and they notated everything down. I had my friend Alexis proof read them and my website, gaining feedback on how my whole collectible art idea would look and function. I even tried my hand at a self-directed photoshoot to help promote them. The investment (artistically at least), is real.
My love letters are, well, they are letters! I handwrite them on my own letter headed stationary using my custom wax seal. The wax seal is not only an adorable old world touch, but whisky bottles used to be sealed with wax, and so my entire logo was designed to BE a wax seal. It was a choice that lent itself directly to the letters.
My letters are longer than an A5 piece of paper and take several minutes to recite. They are not thank you notes that accompany another purchase disguised as letters.
(Ok, I hear it too. My spicy take on the difference between a letter and a note. But you would not believe the amount of people who contacted me at the time noticing a surge in the use of the term 'love letter' almost immediately after I had launched mine. Seriously, it was like the newest trending phrase, particularly in burlesque land. And yes, I realise I did not invent nor do I own the term 'love letter', but like I said... People came to me noticing it. The seed was planted and I could not help but notice it increasingly after that.)
I think what I am trying to say is, even in a time of blockage, I did what I had to do to write. Art will always come first for me. Making money or trending marketing strategies will always be an afterthought. Hunter and Alexis, if you are reading this, I beg of you to remind me of this ideology anytime I venture off this path... Or any of you reading for that matter ;)
So there you have it.
A journal entry if you will.
A musing filled of hindsight.
A reflective piece of writing with strong thematic references.
Definitely not a letter.
Or a blog post.
Except that it lives here in blogs, so perhaps we can say it is disguised as one ;)
Love, Whisky
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