Instagram is usually categorised as a social media network. This isn't really incorrect — we do go there to post photos of nights out, see what friends are up to, and stalk exes — but that classification misses a larger role the app fulfills.
Instagram is a cultural institution that is equal parts digital museum, cabinet of curiosities, and nasty woman gallery. If Facebook has become the social media platform we go to for news and Twitter the one we visit for live streams, then Instagram has become the space for finding inspiration, creativity, and, often, a dash of quirkiness. As writer Molly Young said in this week's The New York Times Magazine, Instagram, with its Explore tab, has "ushered in a golden age of personal eccentricity."
There is no better place to find this than the profiles of female illustrators, animators, miniaturists, painters, and jewellers whose masterpieces fill Instagram and expose you to rainbow-filled worlds of fancy. Their feeds are escapes from the ordinary. But often, instead of escaping completely, they make you want to pick up a pen, a paintbrush, a sewing needle, or a piece of paper, and join in.
Ahead, 20 creators you should follow right away.
Brooke Rothshank creates a miniaturist's paradise, where tiny bacon, teddy bears, and even a smaller-than-your-thumbnail portrait of RBG happily reside.
Photo: via @blrothshank.
Jessica So Ren Tang explores her identity and cultural heritage through intricate embroidery that is nothing short of stunning.
Photo: via @jessicasorentang.
Martha Moore Porter leads a charmed, rainbow-filled life.
Photo: via @burieddiamond.
Illustrator Gemma Correll creates designs every nasty woman can relate to. See her Menstrual Island and 2016 Commemorative Pillow if you have any doubt.
Photo: via @gemmacorrell.
Storyteller Rachel Ryle creates magical animations with her own illustrations. A warning: Watching her make a steaming bowl of pho will make you immediately need to go buy said bowl of pho.
Photo: via @rachelryle.
Bangkok-born Wanissa Somsuphangsri takes the art of lettering to the next level. Also worth checking out: The Letterettes, a women's lettering group that Somsuphangsri is part of.
Photo: via @wanisssa.
Boobs, butts, and burgers engraved on enamel pins and sewn on patches fill this Parisian designer's playful feed.
Photo: via @coucousuzette.
Jennifer Ruiz's stop motion animations set up one-of-a-kind scenes. Will you look at this Essie nail polish lake?
Photo: via @byjenniferruiz.
If we can do just one thing in life as well as Maude White cuts paper, we'll call it a day. Check out this intricate creature of flight.
Photo: via @maude_alta.
Animation designer Nneka Myers could very well be the next major Disney artist — she's that good.
Photo: via @kinopia.
Let architect Anna Devís welcome you to her pastel world of play. Her work with different proportions and shapes will make you look at elements of a room, like the humble doorway, differently.
Photo: via @anniset.
German illustrator Kerstin Hiestermann pairs pieces of plants and cut-out figurines with tiny ink illustrations for works of art that take us over the rainbow.
Photo: via @spielkkind.
Insiyah Shahpurwalla does with textiles what a master baker does with cake design. Her creations aren't edible, but they are unbelievably detailed.
Photo: via @thefabricloft.
Quirky illustrator Mari Andrew's January brain is our every-month brain.
Photo: via @bymariandrew.
You might recognize children's book illustrator Katrin Wiehle's animals from note cards and pins at your local stationary store. They're whale-y adorable.
Photo: via @katrinwiehle.
Desirée De León takes ordinary objects, such as stamps and cinnamon sticks, and makes them extraordinary.
Photo: via @dcossyle.
Kristina Webb is one of the women behind the coloring book craze. Her profile, full of rainbow-hued braids and bowls of fruit that look good enough to eat, proves why she's one of the leading talents.
Photo: via @colour_me_creative.
Graphic Designer Shweta Malhotra uses simple, geometric shapes to present new takes on fashion, food, and home design, to name just a few.
Photo: via @shwetamalhotra.
If you think comics are just for kids, you haven't seen Beth Evans' hilariously spot-on illustrations.
Photo: via @bethdrawsthings.
Jeweler Susan Alexandra designs painted cuffs, necklaces, and earrings with colorful flair, and, often, a touch of emoji inspiration.
Photo: via @susan_alexandra.
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