October 2026 was a month for experimenting and collaborating. I had the privilege of working with Amuse Snack Bar in Wellington Central to run a poetry promotion, called Under the Mountain. It had evolved from the idea of having my paintings displayed on their walls and grew into an open invite for writers to sit, be inspired and share their writing. Read one, write one, pass it on, we encouraged.
It didn’t pull in big crowds, but it did create many lovely moments, where staff and customers had endearing conversations and unexpected connections. There were a couple of times, while having my own creative breakthroughs over delicious sourdough cookies, that customers understood that I was the artist on the wall and I was paid flattering compliments. Super sweet.
I also co-ordinated the creation of a Halloween Zine with the Wellington Writers’ Studio. There was a clever and spooky prompt, creative submissions and the delight of seeing it come together in a final form. On Halloween, it was displayed at a party, under dim lighting and chaotic dancing, it didn’t many catch eyes.
Neither of these projects aimed to be “commercially” successful, instead they were perfect examples of how experimenting and collaborating can shape community. It was entirely satisfying to be able to connect directly with people’s inspiration, to collaborate on a project and to feed off one another’s enthusiasm for a shared vision. Small stakes, silly takes and witnessing what can unfold over a cup of coffee. It’s the investment in time and energy into the joy of a community that can make these small creative projects form into new friendships. October reminded me of the joy of being creative without any intent other than to draw people together.
