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A newsletter featuring original essays, music, photography, poems, and films that explore a slow, introverted, and contemplative creative process and the making of bold and expressive art.

Looking Back at 2022

Shimmering Highlights from the Past Year

Roqué Marcelo

Dec 30, 2022

There are so many memories and events that rush through me when I look back upon this past year. As the months progressed, I started to think more strategically and practically about my art. I valued my time more deeply. My social life was punctuated (and dwarfed) by the ongoing ebb and flow of the COVID-19 pandemic. A thick mane of long black hair continued to grow out of my head. I stayed healthy within my loving home deep in the woods of Middle Tennessee.

Thankfully, I am not the same person I was 12 months ago.

Here are shimmering highlights I see when I look back into the now receding 365 days of my life in 2022.

I created and released 11 short films on my YouTube channel. This is a far cry from my weekly output back in 2020 during the first year of COVID, but it was a sustainable rate of return that did not lead to exhaustion.

This year, my goal was to integrate my skills as a filmmaker and visual artist more fully into my work as a musician and performer. I filmed a series of what I called “Interpretations” to that end, and I loved how they turned out. Here is a listing of all my films from 2022:

Cultivating Creativity: The Four Basic Rules

Cultivating Creativity: The Joy of Play

Strawberry Wine: Interpretations by Roqué Marcelo

MaxZine’s Winter Garden

This piece is my personal favorite of all the films I made in 2022:
Building Benches and Making Music at Chinkapin Craftstead

Like a Virgin: Interpretations by Roqué Marcelo

Für Elise: Interpretations by Roqué Marcelo

Dragon by Roqué Marcelo

The Three Mullet Queers Save Mary’s Christmas
I started work as the Director of Programs at a local, queer-led, nonprofit organization called Chinkapin Craftstead that is geared toward land preservation and the advancement of arts and crafts. We hosted several events including artist talks, a play, workshops, plant walks, and a lively Summer Solstice celebration. I also designed (and actively maintain) the organization’s website:

www.chinkapincrafts.org
Last April, my Mom and I went on our second out-of-state trip together. We travelled to Dallas, TX, to visit family and see some sights. Magnolia in Waco, TX, the Sixth Floor Museum, and various restaurants were among our numerous stops. Click on an image in the gallery to enlarge:
My partner MaxZine and I visited Sarasota, FL, twice this year for some family time and much needed fun in the sun. Our friends Spree and Jocelyne joined us for the second trip. Here are some photos:
My sister and nieces went camping at my home in the woods for the first time in July. These kids were such a joy to have with us:
For my birthday in August, MaxZine treated me to a day trip to the Huntsville Botanical Gardens in Alabama. It was so lovely out there:

7. I’ve been making more visual art in the past year, and here is my favorite drawing of 2022. As part of a series of thankfulness drawings, it is a portrait of my partner MaxZine that I would say captures his essence:
8. Lastly, a very big part of my household is our animals. We currently have three cats who we care for, and our neighbor up the hill from us has four friendly dogs who visit us consistently every week. All of these furry friends have added a layer of sweetness to our lives over the last twelve months.
I hope your 2022 was filled with lots of joyous memories and love.

Soon enough, 2023 will begin, and I plan to make each and every day worthwhile.

Thank you for reading, and see you next year.
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