Amena:
Hey everybody, welcome back this week to HER with Amena Brown. This week I'm bringing back an archived episode to our HER living room. In a recording from the before times, I talk with multi-disciplinary artist, Mikkoh, about the connections between art, activism, and wellness. Mikkoh shares how her journey as an immigrant influences the art she makes and how she uses her platform to elevate the art of Asian American artists. Check it out.
Amena:
Everybody let us welcome Mikkoh to the podcast. I just, I'm so used to being in front of an audience, Mikkoh. I'm just used to there being this like, "Woo!" So, I end up clapping. So, I'm going to do that for you.
Mikkoh:
I'll clap, I'll clap too.
Amena:
Oh, so we're clapping together. That's good. I like it. Mikkoh doesn't really know me, y'all. We have some mutual friends and she knows my sister. My sister is actually who first told me about you, Mikkoh. She was like, "Hey, you need to check out Bae Worldwide." Mikkoh's going to tell us more about that. She was like, "You need to check out Bae Worldwide, you need to check out Mikkoh." And I was like, "Word." So, I started following. We have all these mutual friends and I just think that she's amazing. So, I'm really glad that she's agreed to be on this podcast today.
Amena:
Mikkoh, let me tell you, I first saw you DJ at ... was it Super Low Key? No. I first saw you DJ at the Flip Side. The first Flip Side event that was at 529. I think my husband and I were ... We were at something else and were trying to hurry whatever that was along so that we could hurry up and get to the Flip Side. Because Jennifer Chung, who's our great friend, was going to be singing there. And John Song, who we knew as Jules from his artist name, was going to be performing and all these amazing people. We go to 529, first of all, it's packed. It's like wall to wall people. I'm here for everything. And Flip Side, for those of you that are not familiar with this event, is all of these amazing Asian American artists that have come together to just elevate each other's voices and art. I just really, the entire night, Mikkoh, just was standing there like in awe of everything. I was just soaking everything up. The music, the crowd, everything.
Amena:
And I'm married to a DJ, I'm married to DJ Opdiggy. And even really before DJ Opdiggy and I were married, I'm just a DJ snob, to be honest. I don't believe that anyone should waste their time with whack DJing. Because it's not necessary. It's like bad food. Bad food isn't necessary, it doesn't have to be like that. I don't see why I should waste my time on it. That's how I feel about DJing. So, I've walked out of some events. My husband will tell you, if the DJ gets just whack unnecessarily, I'm just like, "I'm going home." Because there's music for me to listen to on my phone or at my house. Why should I stand here and be uncomfortable? This doesn't make any sense. Watching you, I have watched you DJ more than once because I did watch you DJ at Super Low Key as well. You're freaking amazing, Mikkoh.
Mikkoh:
Oh my God.
Amena:
I mean, the DJ choices that you make. I love when a DJ is spinning and as an audience member you get surprised. You're like, "Oh, didn't know you were going to go there, but you did and I'm glad about it." That's what it's like watching you DJ.
Mikkoh:
Thank you.
Amena:
That's only one aspect, y'all, of the things that Mikkoh does. Thank you so much, Mikkoh, for joining me today.
Mikkoh:
Oh, thank you so much. I'm so honored that you asked me to be a part of this. I don't have many opportunities to I guess speak on my story or speak at all while ... I mean, occasionally while I'm DJing I'll get on the mic and hype the crowd up. But usually I don't. The body of work that I do, just different kinds of mediums, I don't usually speak. So, this is a first for me. I'm a little bit nervous, but I'm really happy to be here. Thank you for asking me.
Amena:
Mikkoh, obviously we know you DJ. There are other creative things that you are doing. What is in the Mikkoh repertoire? You are DJing, and what are the other creative things that you're doing?
Mikkoh:
Yeah. I would say, man, I'm just a really curious person. So, I like to get into a lot of things. A lot of things that I do have been self-taught. But I work with a team, a company called Poly Visuals and we do storytelling videos. We've done little mini docs, done some client work with corporate brands, music videos and stuff like that. What else do I do? Dabble in graphic design here and there. I think ultimately I just want to be a creative director and I think I have a lot of ideas in my head that I want to implement. Yeah.
Amena:
I love this. First of all, I love this and I'm just like this is amazing, just all of these talents. I'm like, what is it like? My husband's this kind of person where he DJs, which is kind of interesting thinking about this Mikkoh. Because my husband also DJs, but he has a visual eye also. Where he can dabble in graphic design and he'll dabble a bit in some video production too. And I'm just ... I just literally have a lot of words to say and write and I don't have anything else. If somebody's asking me for some other talents, I'm like, "Yeah, that's it. That's all I have."
Amena:
It's interesting to me to think, you're now the second person I know that DJs, but also does sort of visual art as well, which makes me wonder if there's some connection to how the brain has to work when you are sort of spinning records and doing mixes and things like this. And if there's a similar part of how the brain has to also think about how you can visually tell a story. Does it feel to you like something is the same in those processes? Or for your mind, are they completely different?
Mikkoh:
Well, I think there are a lot of similarities there. I feel like there is a single thread that kind of ties in a lot of art forms together. For me actually, I started when I was a child with visual arts. I actually painted and we did a lot of art classes, I used to go to the dark room, develop photos back in high school and whatnot. And then music has always been a part of my life. I am Korean American, so my very Asian parents have put me through a lot of musical instrumental training. But I never I guess imagined to actually pursue this in any way professionally. But I mean, a lot of these ideas and the way that my mind works is just all from me being locked in my room and trying out different things. I'm just a very curious person. I think I'm just naturally like that.
Mikkoh:
And if I'm curious, I'm the type of person to seek it out and try it. And I do kind of see a lot of similarities in these art forms. Especially in DJing, I mentioned that I do a lot of video production and I help brands tell their stories and whatnot. When it comes to DJing when I'm on a stage, I really like to kind of ... You know how I play, I play all different genres. I'm an open format DJ, so I try to kind of play everything that I like, which can be chaotic sometimes. But there is ... I feel like I'm weaving a story on stage. Play a little bit of similar stuff, and then sometimes I throw in I don't know, sometimes random, crowd reacts, so I'll keep going with that. Yeah, really it's like DJing has been a very ... I don't know, it's been a crazy journey for me because I'm not ... I've just always been a very quiet person since I was young. I never, ever dreamed of performing on stage for hundreds of people. I don't know if that answered the question, but ...
Amena:
No, that totally answered. You're touching on a question, or a type of question that I always ask each guest. I love to find out from each guest sort of an origin story. Because I think origin stories are so fascinating because if we sort of return to our younger selves, our younger selves are in so many ways telling us who we're going to become, even though you're not always picking up on how all the pieces are going to land. I was also a very shy and withdrawn child. It surprises me in so many ways that I became a person that performs on stage. Because I'm like, I just would rather have been in a corner reading a book or writing in my notebook or whatever.
Amena:
So, part of my origin story of what I think made me become a writer is just I loved reading, I was very nerdy growing up. All of that exposure to how words can be used well really influenced what I wanted to do with words when I became older. Did you have a moment that you can look back on now as a child that you knew, "Oh, I think I'm going to become an artist."? Or was that something that came to you much later in your life?
Mikkoh:
Oh, definitely much later. Man, I actually immigrated to America when I was really young, probably around three, four years old. I loved art and I kind of showed those signs of being an artist when I was really, really young. And my mom tried to cultivate that in me. But then when I started going to school, she realized I was also really good at school. And of course, being the [tiger 00:12:03] mom that she is, and being the immigrant mom that she is, she kind of pushed me in that direction. I love my mom and she has all the best intentions. But yeah, I was definitely pushed really hard in school. But I was kind of ... I challenged myself too, when I was a child. I took all the gifted AP courses, thought that I was going to go to med school. I went to Georgia Tech and studied engineering.
Mikkoh:
When I went to college, I actually dropped everything that I was doing art-wise. Because for me, as an immigrant, I guess I call myself a 1.5 generation. Because I'm not quite first generation immigrant, and I'm not quite second generation. But being Asian American, I couldn't even imagine pursuing anything in the creative arts. That was not even talked about at home. I didn't even bring it up to my parents because I didn't think it was a possibility. I mean, I naturally go into this engineering route. And then maybe about third year in, I was just really unhappy. I knew I didn't want to do this. I mean, I was in the lab doing Alzheimer's research and stuff, which was really cool. But I didn't feel ... I mean, it's really hard. And mad, mad respect to people in STEM fields. Because that's like taking years and years of research to become something that's really revolutionary in terms of science.
Mikkoh:
So, a lot of it is really ... It's small, minor steps to get there and years of research. It's a lot of ... I mean, to be honest, boring. I didn't feel like I was making an impact. I guess I'm kind of an impatient person. I didn't feel passionate anymore about it. At that time, I had joined this nonprofit just doing just for my resume, I was just fresh college kid trying to get some extracurricular activities on my resume. And it ended up becoming something that really changed my life. Because I know you know a little bit about collaboration. But for those who don't know, it is a nonprofit who is really trying to push diversity in mainstream media mostly focused on Asian Americans.
Mikkoh:
I just started out as a volunteer helping out at shows that the team would produce, and they would be showcasing Asian American talent around in Atlanta. This is just the Atlanta chapter, it actually started in LA, and there's several chapters all around North America. It was really cool because you get to see this network of Asian American artists, even from the LA side. They know all the big actors and musicians out there, people who I've seen growing up. Even, I mean, like people on YouTube, like Jennifer Chung, I grew up watching her on YouTube, since middle school, high school. So, when I met her I was such a fan girl. But it's crazy because we're really good friends now. But yeah, I mean, I ... Collaboration, it kind of showed me that hey, I can do this. Or, I have other talents where I can bring communities together and I can inspire people to keep pushing themselves. And I saw that through that. And especially the older staff members and stuff that really mentored me and showed me that you can do this.
Mikkoh:
I was getting close to all the Collaboration fam people and then somehow got connected with the Atlanta art scene here. A couple of my artist friends who I really liked and I loved their music, they're music producers and stuff like that who told me that I had great taste in music. So, I was like, "Oh my God, I might have great taste in music." They just kept pushing me. They were like, "I think you should try DJing." At that time, I was going to a lot of concerts and shows and I was like, "Yeah, man, I kind of want to try doing this." It was just inspiring to see people on stage doing it. So, I tried it out. It was super well-received because first of all, there's just not that many Asian American DJs in Atlanta. And then also Asian American female DJs. So, I kept going at it. People really liked what I was playing. And here I am now, almost four years later I've been DJing.
Amena:
Oh my gosh, Mikkoh. I can't even believe you just said four years. Because me seeing you live, I would not have even known that it had only been four years. That's ... Wow. And I told you, I'm a snob. I will walk out right now over some whack DJing. I just can't even stand it. Oh my gosh. That is just amazing. I love how Collaboration as an organization not only played this role in your development as an artist and even just in how you were going to navigate the world. But now you having an opportunity to work with them even more closely, I think that's so dope. Because I've been thinking about the idea of safe spaces. And that's one of the things that really struck me about going to Flip Side, where I first saw you. Because I think when we talk about diversity, and diversity is important. Also, it seems like diversity is going to be best done when the people of color, the marginalized voices, also have safe space among themselves as well.
Mikkoh:
For sure.
Amena:
That was one of the things that really struck me about being a Flip Side that night. It wasn't that I wasn't welcome to be there. I was totally welcome to be there. But I also understood that this is so beautiful and such a safe space for every Asian American artist that's in this room, and for every Asian American that's in this room, even the ones who are like, "Art's not really my thing. It's not my jam. But I'm here at a show watching people who have similar background to me or similar story to me, watching them share their art on stage uninhibited." It was so powerful for me just to be there sort of to bear witness to that. I think that is so important for all of us as artists, but in particular those of us who are people of color. That we are fighting to see ourselves and our stories represented in the mainstream while we are also cultivating this community among ourselves so that we can be seen and heard and honored in all the ways that our stories deserve. I really, really love that.
Amena:
You and I also share that we are both living here in Atlanta and it just sounds like Atlanta has played a big role just obviously in your family and in your development as an artist. For me, when I was first coming to Atlanta, I grew up a military kid, so I had moved around a lot. I got to Atlanta and I was like, "Oh my gosh, all these Black people are driving Benz's, this is crazy." Everything was amazing, just seeing all the various things that people who looked like me were doing here. So, I was sort of having an element of culture shock because I was coming here to go to Spelman College.
Amena:
And speaking of safe space, Spelman being one of two historically Black, historically female colleges, I got a chance to meet all these Black women from various parts of the world speaking various languages, coming from various religious backgrounds and upbringings. There was no monolith among us. I'm sure you experience this when you're doing work with Collaboration too. It's like everybody has some shared experiences, true. But when we all get in the room together it's like we all come from very different places, also had very different stories. So, that was good for me to see all the things a black woman could be, by meeting all these women. What was it like for you coming to the city, you were very young when you first got here. But what was that like as your entry into living in America? Did you experience this, as you got older, this culture shock of that? What was that experience like?
Mikkoh:
Yeah. Yeah, so my only memories of being a child are in Georgia, the state of Georgia. I grew up in Duluth, Georgia, which is mostly known as the K town over here.
Amena:
Word, word.
Mikkoh:
Although I did immigrate to America, I did feel that I was in this kind of ... Well, at that time there weren't as many Koreans, but there were still a ton of Koreans here. I still felt like I was in this bubble of this Asian community that looked out for each other. Many of the people immigrated to America, Korean people who immigrated to Georgia, all stayed in Duluth. I mostly grew up there, until I went to Atlanta when I went to Georgia Tech. And when I went to school, there was like oh my God, I feel like I'm actually experiencing Atlanta as it is and the city where I got to I guess diversify my friend group. Because I think that because I felt safe in my bubble of Asian American, I mostly hung out with Asian Americans. Especially the immigrant communities here in Georgia, for us, a lot of our gathering places were the Korean churches around here. That's kind of what my upbringing was like.
Mikkoh:
My mom is a missionary, she just got ordained as a pastor as well. That was my whole religious upbringing. So, I come to the city and I still felt a little bit like a small town girl. Being in Atlanta, it really kind of opened my eyes to, man, there is so much more out there than Duluth. It's been crazy because now I have actually mostly predominately non-Asian friends. But the thing is, I was the token Asian. I was the only Asian girl person in the building. And then when I started doing art and being kind of more of a figure in the city, I'm one of the very few Asian people that are doing it out here.
Mikkoh:
I think especially with the political climate and stuff the past few years, it really made me kind of rethink how I do events around the city and how I curate these kind of safe spaces. Because I had created Bae Worldwide fresh out of college, and that was for mostly female artists. And then I moved on from that because I was like oh my God, there are no Asian artists in the city. With the whole Black Lives Matter and these political movements coming through, it really made me kind of look inward into my own community. Because before, when I was first doing DJing and stuff, I never did anything with Jennifer and John. Because I knew they were, and I knew that they were artists as well. But I had never even imagined working with them on stuff.
Mikkoh:
When I was forced to look inward into my own community, I was like oh my goodness. I think it's so awesome that these little subspaces are kind of being created within different POC groups. Me and John started Super Low Key, and we are doing little popups for Asian artists here and there. And he created Flip Side. And then, I had a friend of mine who was working a lot with [inaudible 00:27:10] in the city, who was mostly Hispanic and Latin X artists. And she was like, "You inspired me to create that." And I was like, "Oh my goodness." I am so honored that me, as an Asian, can inspire a Hispanic artist to be like, "I want to help my community too." It took me a couple years, but I am now reaching back into my own community and making sure that we have a voice too.
Mikkoh:
Because I think, as Asian Americans, we are seen mostly as quiet and timid and shy and don't like to speak out about things, speak out against things. It's like a vicious cycle. Because we ... Nothing's going to change if we continue to be quiet. And I think it's time for us to stand up and create those safe spaces and tell our stories. The media tends to portray us, there's one or two, three characters that Asian people get casted in. It's awesome to see more Asian short films coming out, I know HBO's doing a lot with that. And more prominent Asian artists and actors. They just shot ... they're about to release the all Asian cast movie, Crazy Rich Asians, which is crazy. I would've never imagined that. I grew up seeing Lucy Liu and Jackie Chan and that was it.
Mikkoh:
So, yeah, I think it's crazy. Because I'm here in Atlanta, which is predominately Black people. And this whole Black Lives Matter thing has cascaded out into these other POC groups. I think it's crazy. Because I think we all still stand together, even though it's all separate groups. I think they're empowering all these other POCs too. So, it's really cool being in Atlanta.
Amena:
Yeah. I love how ... There are two things you said that really just I think are so important. I love how there's all this layering to how we affect change. And a part of that is, for those of us who are people of color or exist in other marginalized groups, a part of it is being with your people and knowing the story of your people and elevating the leaders, the influencers, the stories of your people. And then, from that, I think a lot of times does come this collaborative element, where for me as a Black woman, I'm like, "I want to tell the stories of my grandmothers and these women who came before me. And I want to elevate the voices of other Black women." Well, then that becomes other thoughts that I have. Like, when I go into different spaces, well then that turns into, "Well, where are the Asian American women? Why are we not calling upon the Asian American women to lead these things?" "Where are the Latinas? How can we call upon their leadership here?" "Where are the Native American women?" And so on.
Amena:
It just opens up my mind more and more whenever I get into an open door or when I get into an opportunity, how is this an opportunity for other people of color also? For other women of color? I think it sort of becomes this really beautiful wholistic thing where we are looking for equity and we are building things that say that our voices are important and that our stories are important. And as we do that, we sort of find these spaces where we all end up working together. You know? Which, I think is so beautiful to be a part of.
Amena:
Another thing that I was thinking from what you shared too, my friend Kathy Khang, who I actually interviewed for this podcast. I was just at an event this past weekend and heard her speak. She was just talking about how she wants the story of Asian Americans to be broadened. Because she was like, "There is so much more to us than what has been told of us." And she said, "We all speak different languages, we are coming from different ..." She was like, "It's not even like we are all speaking ..." She was like, "When people use this term Asian American," she was like, "It's not even like we all share a language. We're all speaking different languages and coming from these different beautiful cultures and want to celebrate the richness of all of it."
Amena:
It was really impactful to so many people in the audience when she shared that. But in particular, to every Asian American woman that was in the audience just walking up to her after she spoke and just feeling so seen and known by what she said. And just every woman of color in that room is looking at Kathy saying these things going, "Yes, yes!" We don't want our narratives to be flattened. We want to express the richness of who we are. That's what I hear and what you're saying.
Amena:
I want to talk about DJing for a moment here. Because obviously I'm very into it and have become a snob about it, bless my heart today. But I wanted to know, for you, out of all of the hip hop genres, you know, break dancing and graffiti and beat boxing and MCing and so on, you have all these options of what you could do, what you could pick to be a facet of hip hop that you would engage with. What was it about DJing that made you go, "I think I'm going to give that a try."?
Mikkoh:
Oh man. I think it's the fact that, I mean, when you're a musician, I feel like a lot of musicians are tied to one genre. And with DJing, I mean, I listen to so many types of music. And I'm sure a lot of other people out there are like that. But how can I take that and be able to present that as an art form? I think that's what ultimately drew me to it. I was raised on my mom's old vinyl collection. She listened to the Beatles and Holland Oates and Elton John. She loves funk music and stuff like that. Then I grew up in Georgia, near Atlanta, where I was exposed to hip hop music and R and B and soul. How can I blend all of these genres together? That's what I guess ultimately drew me to DJing.
Mikkoh:
When I'm on stage, it's really ... I feel like I just go into a trance. After every performance I'm like, "What just happened?" But it really is crazy, this small Asian American girl can control physical body movements and emotions of hundreds of people in one location. I think that's a really powerful thing. I do that through music. Other people, you do it through your words and the way that you speak. For me, music is that channel for me. Yeah, being in Atlanta really influenced me a lot. Because even the type of music I play, I play open format, but the type of music that ... I get a little bit into producing here and there. And the type of music I want to make is stuff that hits really hard on the low end, like bass, like the hip hop beats. But then, I also, I'm trained classically in piano and flute and stuff. So, I love the orchestral sounding melodies on top and something that really kind of swells emotions in you. Yeah, music is such a powerful medium.
Amena:
It's my biggest ... Of all the arts, it's what inspires me the most, even though it is not the art I do. If I want to be inspired, I want to go and see DJs work. And I'm very ... I want to be where I can see your hands working. Or I want to go see someone perform live music. There's something about the music ... I mean, I love music, period. I'm listening to it all the time. But there's something about the live music experience of watching what an artist can do on stage, which is this very interesting conversation, where you might be there DJing and I'm there standing in the crowd. And I'm not literally like, "Mikkoh, what you been up to? What you doing?" Those things. But we are a part of this conversation where you are saying something with the music that you make, that you spin. And then you're having to wait and see in the crowd, what's the crowd saying back? Is the crowd saying back, "Oh, that is my song!" Or whatever it is.
Amena:
Sometimes, I watch my husband do this too, sometimes the crowd is saying, "Eh, not me. Not so much." And you're like, "Okay, got to pick this other thing and see how that goes." Just having to be so fluid and flexible in those moments and being willing to see what the music wants to do that night. I mean, that is so, so inspiring to me. I've talked to you about art and activism, how you are just partnering with Collaboration in strategy and operations, just providing more platform for Asian American performing artists. But you are also involved in the intersection of art and wellness, which I also find really interesting. Because I'm sure you and I could say about our own lives, and for many artists that we know, that sometimes as artists, we are neglecting our wellness.
Mikkoh:
For sure.
Amena:
We're performing and doing all the stages. And sometimes our art involves us being very vulnerable about things that are going on in our lives. But we're not always in the healing process really. I want you to talk more about the Missed Appointment, which is a project that you've been working on. Tell me more about this and how do art and wellness intersect for you?
Mikkoh:
Man, I think it goes hand in hand. Especially people who are artists and creatives and ... For me, I'm very much both left and right brained. So, I'm very analytical and critical of myself. But then this other part of me is just very free and freeform and want to create and I have so many ideas. And then this other side's like, "Well, how are you going to implement this?" I feel like my brain is constantly just going crazy, fighting back and forth. As creatives, we need that moment of rest, those days of self care. That's something that's always been a constant theme, and thing that I really have to remind myself over and over again.
Mikkoh:
A really good friend of mine, Daisy Jane, she is actually ... I met her through back in the day when I was just starting DJing, even before that. And when I was trying to get into the arts scene here in Atlanta and stuff. She has been in med school for years now. She's about to graduate. But she is all about wholistic wellness, functional medicine. And her, as an Asian American herself, she's Filipino, she is really about reaching back into our roots as well and finding those healing I guess rituals and stuff like that. She approached me with this idea that she had just been ... She's been writing for years, and she really wanted to create it in a visual form.
Mikkoh:
So, we ended up releasing season one last year, it was a nine episode series, where she wrote most of the episodes and I would kind of say things here and there, contribute there a little bit. But mostly, I shot the video, edited, got a team together to do animations and sound and coloring. And we even had Preston Music on it and had a friend who took all the film photographs that we use as B Roll. I think most of us were Asian too, which is crazy. Because would have never have imagined making something like that with a team. We just kind of did episodes that were related to self care, mental wellness, healing foods. I think that's really important, the way that you eat and what you put in your body. Not even just the content that you feed on, that you look at and read, it's the actual food that goes in your body that's really important.
Mikkoh:
We created the Missed Appointment. Yeah, I mean, we are actually working on season two right now, which is crazy that you brought that up. But yeah, we're pivoting a little bit into interviewing other people. Honestly, for us, it's not really an educational medium, it's more of inspiring others to create their own self care routines. Because I don't think there is one answer.
Amena:
That's good.
Mikkoh:
I think everybody's different. Yeah, I think seeing an inside peek into the way other people take care of themselves can inspire you to kind of create your own routine. Yeah, I think as a creative that's so important. So, when she asked me to partner with her on that, I was like, "Yes, I am so down, girl. That is something that I've actually been looking for." That's a journey that I'm still on, and that I'm going to continue to be on. It was really cool, working with DJ on that. Because I think it really changed my health habits too, in the middle of working on all this. And I'm just sitting here editing videos. But seeing her really passionate about it, was really, really cool. She is on her way to become a psychiatrist because she's just really passionate about helping people. Yeah, this is kind of her way into bringing other people into her practice and stuff.
Amena:
Wow. I love that. And I love the idea of being able to bring people into a conversation about how you establish self care practices for yourself. I know that is a thing I'm still working on, trying to learn how do I pause and take care of myself? And I've had to really, just with some health challenges that I've had in the past few years, really like, "No, seriously girl, stop and make a priority of this or your body is not going to do the things that you would like it to do." And then experiencing the tensions of when you start taking care of yourself, you sometimes have less time to do the things that other people want you to do all the time. Then that like, "Oh, I don't have time to do your work for you because I need to take care of myself."
Amena:
What are some things, Mikkoh, that you could share with our listeners that may be creatives or just may be in a field or in a season of time that they're struggling with that? What are some ways that you go through your own self care practice or tips that you would have for people, just simple steps that they could take towards not just focusing on making creative work, but taking care of your soul as you participate in your creativity?
Mikkoh:
Yeah. I mean, I think for me, time management is a big I guess thing that I have to tackle. I've gotten into the habit of actually scheduling in Google Calendar me time. And I think that's so important because the whole concept behind the Missed Appointment is the missed appointment is those little appointments with yourself that you keep missing. And your missed appointment can be calling your mom or it can be taking a bubble bath and just chilling out. Or going and having some alone time with yourself. For me, I'm really good about making appointments with other people, updating my Google Calendar, making everything look good. But then I was not good about actually setting that time for myself. So, now I've gotten into the habit of actually scheduling it into my calendar. And I think that's really important.
Mikkoh:
Because all of us, I feel like a lot of us, we try, we're like, "Yeah, we'll get to it, we'll get to it." And we keep putting it off. And that's what your missed appointments are. Me, I ... I mean, for example, on Sundays, my brother and I, we have this tradition called Home Improvement Sundays. We have a little anthem for it and everything too. Sundays, we just work on home improvement projects that we've been putting off. The past couple Sundays, for example, we've been pouring concrete and making planters. Or making ... I sanded and stained and made a shelf a couple weeks ago. Having that time to myself where I can just do something that's totally irrelevant to my work and my creative work. Well, it's kind of creative, but it's something that I wouldn't usually do. It's not anything I do to make money. But I think ... I mean, it makes me feel really great when I do it. And then when I look at it throughout the week, I'm like, "Man, I made that." And that encourages me. And I'm like, "I can do this."
Amena:
I love it. I love it, Mikkoh. I was just talking to my husband about this today. I was like, "I feel like I need to do a better job of making our house home." I feel like our house almost, if we're in a busy season of time, our house just turns into the place where you shower.
Mikkoh:
Yes. And maybe sleep a little.
Amena:
Yeah. You went to bed and you ate some food. But you're basically coming in and dropping a bunch of things, like mail, bags, equipment, whatever. Then you're going to go to sleep, eat whatever, you're going to pick up that stuff, take it out again. And you just do that over all these weeks. And I was like, "This summer, maybe I need to have ..." I was like, "Maybe I will take this advice from Mikkoh." Maybe I need to have a make it home Mondays. Huh? Huh? And do something like this. Get some curtains going. You know? Just get some of these plastic furniture things out of here and get some real furniture made of wood or something, I don't know. But those are things that just are helping you to remind yourself you're worthy of having a space that you love or you can have peace and comfort and be rejuvenated after all the stuff you do to give out in the world. I love that.
Amena:
So inspiring, talking with Mikkoh. For more information about Mikkoh, visit Mikkoh.Co. She is also the creative director at Poly Visuals and the co founder of a genre-bending dance party called Down For Whatever. You can find out more info at PolyVisuals.Studio. And you can follow Down For Whatever on Instagram at D-W-N-F-O-R-W-H-T-E-V-R. But you don't have to worry about keeping up with all this while you drive or workout or distract yourself at work or whatever you're doing while you're listening to this podcast. Because all this info and more will be in the show notes at AmenaBrown.com/HERwithAmena. Thanks for listening.
Amena:
HER with Amena Brown is produced by Matt Owen for Sol Graffiti Productions as a part of the Seneca Women Podcast Network in partnership with iHeart Radio. Thanks for listening. And don't forget to subscribe, rate and review the podcast.