About Reflections

Why this page? A need to get back to writing and building an archive

About Reflections

Why this page?

For a long time I've been wanting to record my thoughts again and document them in a journal.

It's something I used to do regularly as a student, in the days when social media platforms weren't the beasts they became later on. My page still exists on Tumblr (I won't link to it but it's pretty easy to find if you're curious). It's embarrassing in places and I thought of deleting it many times over the years, but then I scroll through it and feel quite endeared by my 20-something year old self. She posted some terrible drawings back in the day and self-indulgent bits that really didn't need to be shared; but she still did because she was excited and eager to record it all. She built a time capsule for cynical future me, and I'm grateful for that.

So, I want to revive the spirit of that younger Marianna in this new space. To document as openly as I can: the good, the bad, the ugly, the confusing, the unfinished and the beautiful.

Once upon a time it did somewhat fulfil the function of a journal, and some people may argue that it still does. But these platforms have changed massively over the years and they'll continue to. Everything has become overtly curated and strategised, shaped by the promise of visibility and discoverability (a long shot in the dark most of the time). How much of what we post on Instagram is really for ourselves? If the platform ceases to exist, what happens to all those years of building a 'presence'?

I can make a long list of why I don't enjoy using Instagram as much as I used to: the visible and invisible rules, the pressure of creating content (hate that word), the distraction of it all, the rise of AI, Meta's sneakiness. But ultimately I want to get back to writing long form and feel like this space will be much better for that, plus I'll retain a higher level of control.

Cover of Influencer Creep by Sophie Bishop. A woman looking at herself on her phone, in a salmon pink cover — *Sophie Bishop talks about it all much better than me in her book* *'Influencer Creep'.* *Not a sponsored link, just a genuine book rec!*

What will be shared?

Expect to see:

Process behind the works featured in my portfolio.
Drawings and bits from my studio not shown elsewhere.
Prompts and exercises that help me, and could perhaps help you too.
Things that inspired me recently: books, music, films, exhibitions, travel!
Thoughts and ramblings about illustration, art and culture.
General updates, etc etc.

The list will ebb, flow and evolve as time goes on, with the intention of building a library and archive over time.

Who is it for?

My future self! But mainly it'll be for anyone who's followed my work for a period of time (if you've known me ever since those Tumblr days, thank you!?); or maybe you just stumbled upon it and are curious to learn more about the things that inspire and drive me. Hopefully there'll be things you find useful and exciting along the way.

Many of these posts will remain public, but some more in-depth ones will be reserved for supporting members.

If you have an online blog too, what do you feel works better for you? What doesn't? I'm all eyes/ears.

Header image: Page from my sketchbooks. Explore more.