I am making a deliberate effort to leave my phone as far away from my attention as I can, whenever I am able. I’m not looking at the news, I’m not scrolling the feeds, I’m not posting. I’m leaving it in my pocket, my car, in the kitchen, just … not in my face.
This fits into my efforts to slow down and be more present. It’s creating space I desperately need to decompress, get bored, let my mind wander and come back with a fun and creative idea.
Today, I was out for a minute and saw this little art installation on a telephone pole. It was weathered quite a bit; it’s been here for awhile. And it was beautiful to me. It was a few moments better spent than they would have been looking at anything on my phone, or anything I could have been listening to. It wasn’t dysregulating, it didn’t increase my internal DEFCON level.
I chose to experience and appreciate this thing that someone made when they were very much not thinking about me, because it was exactly where I needed it to be, exactly when I needed it.
I took some pictures (using only the camera and nothing else on the phone) so I could remember the moment, and share the art. They’re pretty big, so I’m gonna put them behind a jump.
Art is so important, y’all. Make time to experience it. Allow it to inspire, comfort, and challenge you.
I love public art, and I love the artists who create and install it. Please support your local arts community.
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Beautiful pole, it is a feast for the brain to process, frolicking with ideas, imagination.
Is that the Necronomicon cover peeking out in the middle there?
I love this. I am going to take a page from your post and put this phone down and get outside. 💖
I got charging stands for my phone, placing them at the far edges of my desk and nightstand. They let me glance at notifications without picking up my phone to acknowledge or clear them.
Meaning I get the space to choose to ignore (or delay) them, freed from the temptation of doing something, anything, when I was holding my phone anyway.
The world doesn’t need me as much as my ego wishes it did. Including my own world, at least as viewed through my smartphone.
This. So much this.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing, I’ve been looking at as much art as I can lately. So much better than the news. I also started the Whyte Python World Tour audiobook this morning and have been loving it!
The world needs you. You are appreciated. Your art and your craft need you as we need the gift you offer. We need you. Perhaps, we just want to know you are there creating and sharing. However…I can’t say we need our phones or vice versa. It’s amazing how well we survived prior. I like to believe we will survive post. I know it connects me to the people with him I feel I can connect, resonate, and grow because of. Thanks for being you.
The 1st weekend in June Columbus has a great Arts festival along the river. Anything you can imagine. Worth the time to explore.
Nature is art too and can provide a moment of calm, even if it’s just the way a particular street’s trees sit against the sky and clouds.
the remnants of what looks to be a uniform make the rest of the depictions so much more poignant/disturbing/meaningful. thank you for taking the time to share what someone needed to share with us.
I wasn’t expecting all the texture from telephone pole art! Wow, very nice.
That grabbed me, too. It was even more wonderful in person. I could feel the rain that the cardboard absorbed during the last big storm, and the heatwave that’s dried it out.
I agree that Street & Public Art is so important and valuable to the community. I just wrote a whole comment about how badly public art is taken care of in my area by the local authorities, but I’ve deleted it because the theme of your post was about finding the joy. I love finding new public and street art in my area, I love that people create such beautiful work and share it with the world. I love to take photos of my findings and share with my friends in other cities.
The creative arts, while always important, are even more important right now helping us find peace and joy while the world is so crazy.
Nice one. Glad I’m not the only one trying trying to disconnect from the constant bombardment of the digital world. I feel so much better when I’m just present in the real world without all the negativity and distractions. ✌️❤️
I love it ! It definitely beats looking at our phones ! Our art therapy for the day .
It’s important to embrace art and beauty and not just in the worst of times, like now. To always hold it close to you. Also, if some juvenile 30-year-old quasi-movie star out there wants to suggest that an art form you love is dying or should die, ignore them. It’s hard when it is all over social media but try. Thanks, Wil.
Hi Wheaton! Have you ever been a fan of indie comix art? Just curious. Either way, Keep on keepin’ on. Keep on truckin’!
Thanks for sharing this artist’s work with all of us! I love how this is a non-commissioned piece that is done just because it is art and speaks so much. Art with no strings attached is the best art. I wish I lived in a place where people could put up art like this and it wouldn’t just be taken down for some by-law issue. There is public art in my town, and it is good, but it is all commissioned. It’s not the same as art in the wild.
Thank you, Wil! This is the least depressing thing I have seen in a long time. ❤️
Beautiful! One of my favorite things to do is wander around my neighborhood (with my sweet dog) and take photos of plants, art, the sky, rocks, or any number of things that catch my eye. No other use of my phone during these time except to make some images that please me. Sometimes I share them, sometimes I don’t. 🙂
Hi, Wil. I just wanted to let you know that my wife and I tried your “Soup. Black Bean. Hot” recipe and really liked it. We’ve now made it quite a few times. (I wanted to post this comment over there only that post has comments closed.)
Hey, that’s great! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Inspirational and insightful!
Thank you for your writing about staying off the phone and taking time to get bored. It is just what I need to hear today, especially from somebody I very much respect, you Will Wheaton. The pics of the art in the telephone were great.
Capturing street art has been a habit of mine for years… Helps that I lived in Melbourne for a good chunk of time, somewhere that recognises it’s importance (hello Hosier Lane!)
The Pueblo Magico where I live is covered in murals of all styles. It’s a shifting kaleidoscope of color and intent that’s wonderful to experience. I’m glad you found some too!
Awesome. I try to take a picture or two every time I go for a walk – it helps me to actually see things, and often there are some delightful little things to be seen.
That’s lovely. Thanks for sharing.
If you like interesting found art like this and if you have Netflix, check out the documentary “Secret Mall Apartment”, about a group of artists who created an apartment in an unused interior space inside a mall in Rhode Island and they occupied it for several years before being discovered. The whole documentary is fascinating, but at 23:40 there is a segment about a secret outdoor art installation that you might enjoy. I also love the surprise of coming across things like this and have my own collection of photos of fun and random things. <3
read somewhere, somewhen “where there’s a Wil there’s a way” anyways, thank you sir
” life is short // eat dessert first ” (grabbed somewhere, forgot when/where)
Thanks for your time last night in Pittsburgh with Jerry and Corey. Thanks for letting me get a close up look at your octopus tattoo as well when we had the professional photo op. I know that you both want to give fans time, but also need to guard your time for your sanity so I didn’t say anything else to the three of you with that long line of photo op folks. Please indulge me for a few moments to gush at how special it was to have the three of you share what you did with us.
Watching Stand By Me with you and hearing you talk afterwards was a lovely emotional rollercoaster. I’m gladdened to hear that Rob was such an awesome human being in addition to a phenomenal director. I suspect he had an inkling of the troubles you each endured and that made each of you perfect for your roles in the film and I love that he made you all feel safe and worked with each of your on your scenes. Together you made magic. You may not have liked the job you were forced into but you all are phenomenal actors and don’t any of you forget that. Please tell Corey and Jerry I said that. I love each of you. I wish we could have had River and Rob longer. Neither was done with work that would have been great had they stayed with us longer. I love that you’re telling stories in other ways and anticipate every new Storytime with you and other audio work as well as your writing.
Though I’m a little older than you four, your characters helped me though some things too. Especially the when you and River had the moment about being awkward and weird. The way he told you that everyone is weird hit so hard and helped so much. You and I share so many hobbies that it’s fun to see and hear about your various adventures. I also act on stage (and sing and do theatrical lighting), play DnD, both work professionally with and spare time tinker with computers and love good storytelling especially science fiction. I enjoy many of the same musical artists that you do so when you share things in that area that’s fun too.
I want to thank you all for continuing the work you did on this movie in all aspects of your professional lives and taking the lessons Rob gave you about work and life to others you work with and to us, your fans. Thank you for taking this time to share more than your screen performances with us.
Much love from Pittsburgh
Garth
Always a joy to see a post from you, Wil. That’s some very interesting art. It is very hard to stay away from the news these days, it is ubiquitous. I try not to look at it if I possibly can avoid it. Posts like yours are a big help.
Very cool to come across
Better than a refrigerator door this way everyone can see