With summer coming to an end and fall beginning I’m feeling inspired and rested, ready to go back to creating even more things this year/cycle – maybe I’ve got a bit carried away by this feeling and have started more projects/hobbies and classes that I can sustain long term. If that happens and I need to prioritize some interests over others that’s ok and part of the creative process. But enough intro, I have lots to share!

How’s the Dj life going?

I finished and recorded my first set! I was super nervous about it but thought I did pretty well. However when hearing back the audio recording I realized I had made a repeating mistake in my transitions: I was bringing in the coming track in a very low volume for a couple compasses before coming in with it. It works when we are listening on the speakers but the raw audio just sounds messy. I was bummed about it for a couple of days but I was able to come back around and learn from it instead of letting this keep me from continuing this hobby (even though I have been dealing with a lot of self-daubt and shyness about performin gin front of other people). I will practive my set with a few imrpovments, until. figure out a better way to transition some lyric heavy songs and then try recording again. This time probably at home, on my own controller (did I tell you guys about this purchase! so exciting! It is the DDJFL4) with my own stylistic voice comming through instead of recording at the school studio where I lack control and the support I need at this moment in my learning journey (no shame on the school, this is about me).

2026 Classes & Workshops

I might have overdone it this year by deciding to go back to the woodblock prinitng studio regularly, signing up for a ceramics class and also deciding to attend more figure drawing meetups… all this on top of all the other projects I describe in this post! It is quite ambitious for such a home-body like me, but that is exactly the point. I wan to keep active both creativelly and socially and thse classes are good excuses to practice both. I am beyond excited to have been selected for this ceramics class! It is free workshop offered by my local culture foundation, CIC, where the woodblock open studio is at as well. I talk a lot about this space, the gift it is to have access to it and the lack of care and funding that goes into it systematically/by design.

I am excited to be beack into a active schedule and to have as much creative time as possible built into my routine. Of course I’ll share the whole journey here and keep you posted on how managable it becomes on the long run.

Check out my recent Figure Drawing and Woodblock Printing posts/practices.

Current W.I.Ps

Office space: I’ve finally achieved a good setup of my office (after almost 2 years!). I love the way I can be carring out multiple projects at once and all the possible sitting (and even laying down?!) option I have. It is the optimal space for the way I work -> in short spams of time, rotating between multiple projects and positions.

Paint revival: I fell for the muchi jelly guaches back in 2020? and of course they became little colorful pebbles… I spent a few days reviving them and to my surprise, with enough patiance, they came back to life! I am excited to give them another try, which leads me to my next project in progress:

Paintings: I decided to practice my painting skills by recreating some of my favorite analog photographs from my experiments with the media in college. I selected 6 photos to try and I have already staerted with the first one. I am not very skilled at paiting, specially with guaches, but I think having physical reference images will help me. I’ll report back on my progress and learnings.

Crochet: I am working on a rolly-polly plushie for myself and it proing to be quite complicated with many small and moving pieces. I am excited to share this project with you soon!

Digital: I have been brewing some digital project experiments as well but these are top-secret and I will only share when it is ready much further down the line… I guess this was just o make you curious, sorry.

Collage Making: I wish this blog had more interesting imagery and I have been thinking about incorporating more collages into them instead of just image galleries. I am testing out Shuffles, Canva and good old Figma for this but I am not super sure when and how I should do these… We’ll see soon when I start incorporating some of them into my posts. Let me know what you think and if you have any tips please.

Creativity has been spilling into every corner of my life lately — new ideas, new hobbies, and a surprising amount of travel. It feels like I’m absorbing everything around me and letting it spark something new. Which brings me to my next little adventure.

Cultural Curitiba: Concerts & Contemporary Art

I recently went to Curitiba — one of Brazil’s great cultural hubs — to see Linkin Park on their From Zero tour. My partner is a huge fan, and over time I’ve grown more and more into their music after learning about their history. Seeing Emily live was incredible; her voice is stunning. Mike was sweet, charismatic, and effortlessly talented.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the opening act: Poppy. Back in 2020, I liked a few of her hyperpop songs like Am I a Girl?, and only recently found out she had gone “metal.” Her performance was amazing — the way she switches from delicate high notes to flawless screamo is wild.

Nothing revives the soul like a good concert: shaking, jumping, screaming, and absolutely destroying your feet (RIP to mine, who walked 30 minutes in tight heels to get there).

Another gem of Curitiba that I had to revisit is the contemporary art museum MON (also known as “Museu Oscar Niemeyer”), designed by Oscar Niemeyer, one of Brazil’s most iconic architects. The museum has a beautiful permanent collection of African and Asian artifacts — musical instruments, ceremonial objects, textiles, prints, paintings, fabrics, jewelry. Every room feels like stepping into a new world.

From the special exhibitions on display, my favorite was ‘Pure Gold – Upcycled! Upgraded!‘. It showcased chairs, stools, and couches made entirely from recycled or upcycled materials. A few pieces that caught my attention:

• a chair made completely out of compressed wool (I’m so curious how sturdy it actually is — wool can get really dense, especially when steamed)
• a stool made from pineapple skin-paper/material, glued together sheet by sheet
• stools built using dismantled washing-machine drums, decorated in that charming “country” embroidery style

Some works were more conceptually interesting than pretty or practical, but I really enjoy seeing how the upcycling movement keeps evolving. There’s a cool article digging deeper into the exhibition here, in the ‘Design Do Bom’ blog if you want to read further (you might have to translate it to eng.). There were a few other special exhibitions I’ve stopped at to gather some inspiration but did not dig to deep into:

1. Através by Mariana Palma a trippy, floral, painting collection that incorporates sheer fabrics and colorful patterns
2. Trilhos e Traços by Poty a centenary celebratory collection from the important Brazilian artist, and
3. Afeganistão a collection of rugs with imagery surrounding themes of war and peace.

Below are some of my favorite pieces from the museum, along with translated captions from MON.

Finding My Footing as a Baby DJ

I’ve been invited to a couple of techno parties recently, and — very differently from before — I’ve started paying attention in a whole new way. Suddenly I’m noticing the transitions, effects, pacing, how the DJ interacts with the crowd… all the invisible details that shape the energy of a room. Something in me is shifting.

To be honest, I resisted this shift for a long time. I already consume visual art in such a technical, analytical way that I wanted music to stay pure — something I could just feel without needing the vocabulary to dissect it. But curiosity won (as it always does with me), and now I’m diving into the musical side of things too.

In the last few events, I met some DJs, got tips, saw things I want to try (and things I definitely don’t), and started discovering subgenres I might want to explore. One that surprised me was dark forest techno, which I heard at this witchy, high-BPM party played by DJ Cerridwen. In the middle of her set, she dropped some wild experimental blends — and even a full-on samba — and the crowd absolutely devoured it. That moment made me realize how much freedom there actually is in a well-built set.

Around the same time, I went to Baile dos Gêmeos, the iconic local twin DJ duo, and their set was everything people promised: energetic, playful, technically sharp, and full of personality. It left me buzzing with ideas about what’s possible behind the decks.

All of this — the parties, the classes, the conversations — is pushing me out of the passive listener role and into something more active. In our last DJ class, I brought a few harder-techno tracks I wasn’t sure would land, but my classmates were super into it. It was such a small thing, but it gave me a surprising boost of confidence.

Which brings me to now:
I’m preparing for my first real set. And even though everyone else will probably play house (of course), I’m feeling pulled toward something darker, heavier, and a little riskier. I don’t know if it’ll be the perfect fit, but I’m excited to try — and excited to keep finding my own sound, one experiment at a time.

Mini Playlist:

1. Cut the Bridge – recent song by Linkin Park
2. Negative Spaces – latest Poppy album
3. Coisas Naturais – song by Marina Sena (summer is here!)
4. Europaträume – song by Brutalismus 3000 (a little techno for ya)
5. One Kiss – Dua Lipa & Calvin Harris (my favorite from her)
6. Caetanear – album to get to know Caetano Veloso (see below)

A Pop-Powered Stop in São Paulo

This trip was mostly to see Dua Lipa — which was very exciting — and to visit some close friends. The concert was energetic and fun, and she kept the whole crowd dancing for the full two hours. As expected with large concerts, there were a few annoying moments with overly excited fans claiming too much space or screaming in your ear, but honestly that’s part of the concert ecosystem at this point. It wasn’t enough to spoil the night.

Her voice, outfits, and song list were great. The production was incredible — it felt like every song had its own mini music video. And the highlight of the night? The guest appearances by Carlinhos Brown and Caetano Veloso, my childhood #1 artist. It was surreal! Dua sang beautifully in Portuguese, and her choice of guests and songs was perfect.

Dua is one of those rare mainstream artists I’ve come to like more over time. Hopefully I won’t be betrayed — I’ve been disappointed by public figures too many times to trust anyone easily anymore. If you want to check out the videos I made of the concert (and of Linkin Park and Poppy’s concerts too!) check out my tiktok @queer.on.a.beer.

The rest of the trip was spent wandering around Liberdade with my partner, hunting for Yugioh cards to finish our decks, and eating delicious Asian snacks. (Any other players?)

Seeing my childhood friends was so healing, as always. There’s nothing like being with people who truly know you — the version of you that can say anything, without filters, and feel understood. Best part of the trip!

I also managed to squeeze in a visit to MASP, São Paulo’s most important art museum and one of my long-time bucket-list stops — and it was absolutely worth it. I explored:

1. The Permanent Collection Gallery, a fascinating open-concept experience where artworks are mounted on transparent easels, layered through a wide, fluid space that lets you wander and discover pieces (and people) in your own organic path;
2. Ponto sem Retorno (Point of No Return) by Clarissa Tossin, a multifaceted solo exhibition with works exploring nature, the body, time, and the relationships between these themes; and
3. Histórias da Ecologia (Ecology Histories), the museum’s major exhibition at the time, spanning six floors of the newly opened building and presenting a wide range of ecological concepts through diverse mediums and artists.

Below are some highlights from the visit:

These have been a pretty crafty couple of months! Here’s a round-up of all the projects I’ve worked on recently:

1. Portable Loose-Thread Catcher

I saw this project on social media and followed its blog post to put it together. The instructions are very clear and I love the results. Shoutout to ‘Thread Therapy’. I like that it is portable and practical; I bring it along when embroidering or doing other craft projects out and about. For next time, I would make sure to sew the cardboard ring really tight in there to prevent it from moving.

2. Pins & Needles Pillow

To match my thread catcher, I created this little (or not so little) pillow for my pins and needles. I made quite a few mistakes along the way – including sewing my Sashiko design inside out! Thankfully, it’s beautiful on both sides lol. It is also a bit too big, but that’s not necessarily bad. It still came out cute and functional. I’m thinking of working on an improved version of these couple of items to gift my mom soon.

3. Cat’s bed

I’ve crocheted a cat bed for my 3 cats a while ago, and they love it so much that I thought I should crochet a few more. It’s nice and easy, as well as pretty mindless. However, I did try to improve on my first design a bit: instead of crocheting 2 circles and one doughnut shape and sewing these together, I shaped the bag as I was crocheting it this time. Growing the walls up from the edges of the base circle, then cornering out and back down, building the top of the wall, and finally connecting back to the bottom edge of the circle. I stuffed the wall up with soft filling material as I crocheted this last step. I think this design is better because there’s no sowing, but the bottom/pillow of the bed is not as soft or structured as the first design. Also, I made this bed too small. My cats have tried it out a couple of times, and honestly, they fit fine, but it is a bit of a tight fit. I have more of this yarn, which I’ll use to build another one, bigger and more structured.

4. Scarf

Another easy crochet project: a very long pink scarf! Oh, this thread was so beautiful at the store. I could not help myself. First ,I thought of making a vest out of it, but I wasn’t too sure on the design, and I’ve been wanting a pink scarf. I super love the results, and I have been wearing it quite a bit already! I think it’s the perfect length (even though it felt way too long when crocheting it!).

One problem I have with it is that ir curls up. I’m not sure if it has to do with my technique (like perhaps my tension) or if it’s just a matter of blocking the piece out. Either way, I’m probably not going to do anything about it.

5. Clothes fix up

Since I got my sewing machine, I’ve been slowly fixing up a bunch of my clothes. I’ve recently split this dress into a two-piece, took out a patch from a sweater, made some pants shorter, fitted a skirt, and a dress! Here are some of the results

6. ‘Indian-Thread’ Scarf

I was gifted this beautiful, soft, and shiny thread by my mother-in-law from her recent trip to India. As a way to show my gratitude I crocheted her this scarf with some of the thread. It turned out a bit shorter than I was hoping for, but I think she will like it. It is way softer than I expected.

7. Figure drawing meetups

I recently started going back to my local figure-drawing meetings. Read more about these past two events here:

8. Woodblock printing progress

I’ve been consistently working on my Pool project and documenting it all in my “Xilo Diaries” series. You can read more about it through these links:

9. Discarded: Sweater and scarf

There were a few crochet projects that were started and discarded for multiple reasons. I might come back to them eventually with improved ideas.

Stay tuned to see what I create next…

Until then,

Happy crafting!