Still Here, Just Quieter

If you've visited this corner of the internet in the last year and found it a little dusty, you're not wrong. It's been about a year since I've posted anything here or shown up on Instagram, and I want to take a moment to share why, and what Kula looks like from here.

The practical reality is that last spring I had a bad ski accident that led to reconstructive knee surgery in June. Recovery took more out of me than I expected. At the same time, my family was deep in a home renovation that turned into a year of moving - we've relocated four times and still aren't back in our apartment. Two kids starting kindergarten in a new school in the middle of all that didn't make things simpler.

Also, truthfully, I hit a wall with the self-promotion side of running a small business. After pouring a lot into building this website and Kula's presence, I got tired of talking about myself, the positioning, the bio, the strategy. So I put all that down for a while, but kept quietly doing the work.

And there has been real work! ArtMuse is active and in the middle of one of its most compelling seasons yet. Season Three is focused on artist models and muses who were performers in their own right- women whose images became famous while their names were largely forgotten. We're currently deep in a three-part series on Evelyn Nesbit - a young woman exploited by powerful men whose image was everywhere while her voice was nowhere. Her story feels as relevant as ever (the news cycle will tell you why..). I produce and score the show alongside host Grace Anna Brahimy. You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at artmusepodcast.com.

Ojas Oasis is ongoing too - there are a lot of exciting things happening in that world that I'll share more about soon. In the meantime, our host and my dear friend Sasha Bershadsky is now a fully credentialed Ayurvedic Doctor, has planted roots in Austin, and brought the world of Ayurveda with her. Follow along at @ojasoasis for all the latest there.

Postpartum Production is also gearing up for a new season, smaller in scope but meaningful in focus. We're exploring the intersection of creative work, activism, and caregiving - artists whose work is itself an act of social justice, and who are also navigating life as caregivers. More on that in the coming months.

Beyond Kula, I've gotten more involved with an AI-driven media planning software startup, leading operational strategy and organizational design - work that has pulled me back into the world of software development, now with a whole new layer of AI to get up to speed on. Holy moly has it been a year for that. I've also joined the board of the New York International Children's Film Festival, a nonprofit championing diversity and historically excluded voices in children's film and media. I am honored to support the organization and am excited for the year ahead- with the festival's 30th anniversary coming up, it's going to be a very big year!

All of which is to say: Kula is still here, just operating differently. Fewer projects, less noise, more intention. This blog will reflect that too: occasional and purposeful rather than frequent. I'm thinking about a year-in-music post to catch you up on everything I've been listening to (Wet Leg! Dry Cleaning! GEESE oh my god so much Geese), as well as updates on all of our projects as they develop.

Thanks for being here.

- Erin