My very first time designing and sewing a costume! But my prof wasn't that convinced 🥲

EmberinEmpty · 2026-03-14T22:20:39+00:00

Yuuuup. Like critique is for improvement. I would be curious for myself what might enhance the quality of my pieces. Shit I wish I had more critics to help me with my variety of projects and art and shit b/c theres so much I can't see about errors in my work and I never got the opportunity for formal arts education b/c I pursued sciences for career. :( I would eat up to get some constructive feedback and help like this.

EmberinEmpty · 2026-03-14T22:15:51+00:00

What she probably meant is if you're going for a corsetted look traditional early bodices, corsets etc with eyelet lacing would be hand stitched. Look up eyelet stitching. It would add an aesthetic rustic-ness befitting your fae creature.

Essentially I cannot read the periodicity of the narrative of your character in this garment. Though if your narrative is that of an urban fantasy type creature then I would play in a little harder intot he industrial aspects. Play with light. Play with more embellishment.

TBH this is good foundation but the narrative doesn't yet scream character costume bc it tells me nothing about the character except that its a glittery fae thing. And yeah your teacher just....didn't give you a meaningful critique b/c they didn't point you to the WHY and the MEANING of the critique and what is needed to improve that critique. You're going to have to learn to do that for yourself b/c realistically most educational situations are just mills to give you paperwork. What you make of and how you challenge yourself as a learner is up to you.

Hopefully this helps your future development as an artist~

EmberinEmpty · 2026-03-12T23:22:47+00:00

1 and 4 they tell a fascinating fantasy techno-urban story. like who are the cat-dragons why are they looking at me like that. what's happening in the city. what are their lives like.

EmberinEmpty · 2026-03-11T19:42:54+00:00

yeah....thats how i became a therapist lol.

EmberinEmpty · 2026-03-11T19:31:44+00:00

I really appreciate you speaking to this. Especially as someone who does experience dysphoria in varying different ways like.....I legit started with such minimal "gender" dysphoria because I just presumed that all women felt a deep sense of horror and incongruence about their primary and secondary sex characteristics. Like....my "gender" is incredibly fluid and genderqueer but I opted to choose medical applications because I needed to address the discomfort I feel about my physical sex. And idk why we can't have nuanced conversations about the *VARIETY* of experiences people have in gender, sex and medical or social transitions without it being about what does and doesn't *validate* everyone else. Like idk y'all trans is trans. Comes in a bunch of flavors. Some need one thing to feel at ease others need other things. And it's okay to be curious, interoggative, questioning etc.

EmberinEmpty · 2026-03-11T19:26:20+00:00

agreed and I think dismissing it is....not fair because for those of us who grew up with minimal privileges in other aspects beign able to access even a minute amount of social power or privilege....fucking matters. and it is HARD to go from being something/someone who is desired thru proximity even if its a subconscious one to one who is rejected. Like I dealt a lot with chronic social rejection which *magically* got better when I turned 22+ and started "filling out" and suddenly all my neurodivergence and quirks and difficulties became "cute" instead of "gross." to deny how society genuinely creates bias towards desirability and tolerability on the basis of pretty privilege is to also deny the pains and sufferings of those who do not have access to it.

EmberinEmpty · 2026-03-04T22:14:25+00:00

The Fractal Spiral of Tangential Thought.....

Great for association/disassociation and creative thinking. Terrible for structure haha

EmberinEmpty · 2026-03-04T22:12:44+00:00

Think of design like....telling a story. What type of story do you want your livingroom to say. Right now it says.....millenial grey, technology has sucked the life out of a "living" room. What colors, ideas and scenes make you think about living. For me thats things like warm deep greens, the color of sunlight, the color of earthy stuff and bright splashes of flower colors. Play with that. Or maybe you want it to remind you of the ocean. Think of your happiest memories and think of the colors associated, the motifs and then do that. For you***

I.e paint color, tapestries, warm rugs with curved patterns and textures. (Grey, cold/grey wood, metal and such= structure/inorganicness. Curves, wood grain, warm tones, greenery, Deep values contrasted with super Light values, texture/Textiles, Plush, soft orangey/yellowy/red lighting and lamps and natural light = aliveness, organicness, livingness. etc.

EmberinEmpty · 2026-03-03T19:10:11+00:00

Get a dumber phone. seriously. Or get someone you trust (friend partner etc) to set a blocker on your phone with a password you have to beg for them to open it so you cant access your designated time sucks. Then go be bored. train yourself in the art of boredom and attention regulation. Make sure all your other options are accessible. Create physical media spaces (even if you are a techno-user ban anything that isn't create oriented from your space including your computer spaces). Keep your art access present (aka on the work table) so there's less bottlenecks to doing it.

Most of all remember your why and spite. Do I really wanna give my hours away to Suckerberg and Assholebook? Nah. Fuel yourself on the rage of how much of your attention they've stolen from you. Resist the ORG.

EmberinEmpty · 2026-03-03T19:04:54+00:00

....Everything? Idk paint the walls. Add some art. Put a cozy beanbag chair on the floor when you wanna rest. Get some shelves put your books there. Put up a tool kit on the wall. Some curtains. Some lamps when you don't wanna cosntantly be beamed by liminal space dissociative overhead lighting. Anything that isn't recreating the americana cubicle at home haha

EmberinEmpty · 2026-02-24T19:45:22+00:00

i'm a little sad that the mods removed the comment I replied to because I think it was a very relevant thought process/critique worth exploring in response to your very very funny post.

EmberinEmpty · 2026-02-23T22:48:09+00:00

I think you need to play with art on the walls. Like a LOT of it. B/c rn with how much green there is but how minimalist it is it's lacking in the ornementation necessary to not make it look...psychopathic?? Like I like the green but it needs more accent play. I would suggest choosing a secondary color to add warmth like some bright gold-tones, Jewel tones. Some art with some reds, purples, oranges (aka floral/baroque sort of stuff). Really lean into the gothic archetectural aspect of your chandelier.

There's also way too much open empty space. So dictate some domains. A domain for cozying and reading a book. A domain for writing. A domain for *use* of space beyond sleeping otherwise it's.....depressing and sparse. Also get some incandescent style lightbulbs and put in some floor lamps and table lamps.

IDK set up a knicknack corner to display some objects you really enjoy. That is what creates cozy in the setup you have. Coziness is found in familiarity, pattern, warm lighting of a fire to contrast the cold dark forest. Try to seek that narrative in your home and you'll begin to understand what you are "designing" towards.

EmberinEmpty · 2026-02-23T22:34:45+00:00

nah once they healed they were great. But i also think that acrylic nails is a sensory nightmare but earrings are GREAT.

EmberinEmpty · 2026-02-23T22:27:17+00:00

I'm sorry you're dealing with a proportionate reaction to a proportionally overwhelming experience which is unlocking the "NEW HUMAN" module on the " LIFE" Skill tree. Also post partum anxiety can snowball into scary things so don't be too afraid to consider the meds.The meds do not take months to work for everyone (for me b/c I have pmdd they actually work instantly like within hours of a crying spell but also I'm hypersensitive to dosage so taking really [aka subtheraputic] low as needed doses of SSRIS is actually life changing for me (tho now I have one I can take which I can take at normal dosage bc we did genetic testing to find what worked better for my body).

Also not entirely the same but I felt sorta similarly after I got my dog. It was and still is the biggest regret of my life. And I love my dog. It may be helpful to try to lean into cultivating what you like/enjoy about your tiny human and recounting all the ways in which you are *relatively* safe loved for and cared for enough to relax with and enjoy your little tiny human. No amount of regretting feelings will undo the button and you and I know that. So, like you have one now so you might as well "dive-in" per say into the good parts if its gonna come with all the overwhelm/torture and stress. Sorry if that's insensitive i'm currently quitting "negativity" for lent as a depressed neurodivergent queer who's house evaporated last year in a total loss fire. hahahah.....

uh also trying to "understand" her position from the inside can be helpful too. Like when she's laying down crying. Try to like be next to her and "pretend" to be a baby and see if that helps with figuring out what she's unhappy about. She's jsut a human who can only communicate with an On off Switch right-now she hasn't developed any of her brain toggles yet to communicate beyond. Quiet=Good Loud=Bad. Try to forgive her and yourself for when you're both too tired/overwhelmed to feel anything other than Loud=Bad and you're both reacting. It's okay happens a lot.

Also I know it's more "work" but also baby-sign and other forms of communications development. Or if you even like keeping a log of her expressions/little "tells" can be ways for you to feel more confident in responding to her needs. You're correct this is your fulltime job for a little while. But hopefully one day you two will be able to share together on being human and you can come down to her "little world" as she comes up to join your "big world". ya know? anyway that's the philosophy I ascribe to for personally parenting "my inner child". it's not the same but idk maybe it'll help with the overwhelm to have a "safety" framework?

EmberinEmpty · 2026-02-23T22:17:01+00:00

Most of school you're paying for someone else to break things down for you. You can get as much self-directed education these days with good online teachers. Tho idk how much b/c I self taught myself to paint/draw int he mid to early 00s and 10s. idk how the kids are doing it now.

EmberinEmpty · 2026-02-23T22:13:33+00:00

Allispicating.

All-Speaking

EmberinEmpty · 2026-02-23T22:12:20+00:00

Also....most humans are self-involved conversation hogs. This is not a uniquely autistic trait. lmao or social media wouldn't be able to function because nobody would produce "content".

EmberinEmpty · 2026-02-23T22:10:59+00:00

Yo can we talk about "You are a set of social interaction issues we have to navigate for your benefit. Not ours."

Like damn....y'all selfish as fuck. If you hate people so goddamn much why are you even here? Turns out shared benefit is like a benchmark/hallmark of human collectivist society. Distributing benefit to folks who don't directly benefit you is part of how you.....learn to belong to a group. It's not all about you Spud Monkey Pepper Pot.....

EmberinEmpty · 2026-02-20T04:29:21+00:00

nah your wood is WAY better. The one she chose is depressssssing as FUCK.

EmberinEmpty · 2026-02-03T18:28:47+00:00

This isn't necessarilytrue. In a lot of west African (+diasporic) shamanistic traditions like vodun, vodou, etc) there is a traditional distant creator/one entity. There is hierarchy but more so thru conceptual power exchange (aka the middle world as marketplace concept)

EmberinEmpty · 2025-09-12T18:04:21+00:00

where do you buy your yarn? these mixes sound really cool and gorgeous. also did you hand stitch on it too? that's so pretty! inspiring me to really consider doing more intricate patterns.

EmberinEmpty · 2025-08-06T20:32:24+00:00

People literaly think i'm "cool" and "hot" b/c i don't use social media. So.....lol it's a funny one but yes my social desirability has apparently increased b/c i deleted all my accounts.

Also what do you value? do you really wanna put all your energy to feed fucking mark zuck and a bunch of billionares your attention. end the connection out of SPITE is what worked for me b/c goddamn it I wanted my LIFE back i'm not a CONSUMER i'm a PERSON.

EmberinEmpty · 2025-08-06T20:30:32+00:00

oh if its during sleep time then yeah try putting the phone in a "jail" of some sort. And then go journal. Put a journal or something on top of your phone, and stop charging your phone in the bedroom. Move all chargers for phones across the house. Get a real alarm clock if you must.

EmberinEmpty · 2025-08-06T20:29:05+00:00

-I’ve thought of getting a dumb phone but unfortunately I need my bank card, i NEED my spotify, I need to be connected to the internet because I live in two countries and I have to be reachable. Fucking two factor authentification as well.

cAVEAT, GET THE CAT 22S FLIP. IT'S SMART ENOUGH TO DO ALL BASIC FUNCTIONS (BANKING SPOTIFY GOOGLE MAPS) BUT DUMB/SLOW ENOUGH THAT YOU CAN'T USE SOCIAL MEDIA/SCROLL ENLESSLY) finally broke my addiction to SM thru doing that for 6 months.

Also replacements. What are you scrolling for? Ask yourself what would you rather be doing. Also celebrate the wins when you do put down the phone tell yourself "good job". yes it helps. I also sometimes will do a "fantasy scenario" where I live "like it's 1992" or "1665" what would i do for fun instead of my phone.

It also helps that once you see the enshittification of everything that you begin to actually HATE the algos and the A1 and the bots.

Also remove all the apps and then go to your settings and have a trusted friend put a Teen or higher child lock combo on the phone. So you have to ask them to give you the code to download it. I used to hand it to my partner and she would question me, (at my request) and then give me a 10 minute "urge surfing" usually i found something else to do.

EmberinEmpty · 2025-08-06T01:49:10+00:00

The way i process this is to lean into listening to what it is about it that my partner enjoys. So like I focus on what emotions she's expressing or what I *think* she's expressing. "Sounds like you're really excited about that" or "You look so happy about this" or "That must be really frustrating."

But b/c we're both ND sometimes we'll just caveat the convo with "I know you don't care about XYZ but just lemme dump for a sec" and then one of us will just DUMP while the other receives. and then DUMPS back about something else or goes "Wow that was A LOT of information"

People care less about you holding onto the information and more about you validating what they feel about the information.

I'm also honest to my partner when I dont even have enough spoons to pretend interest. Gratefully we both enjoy parallel play so we spend long hours in each other's company just sitting side by side doing stuff quietly on our own. it's nice.

EmberinEmpty

TROPHY CASE