Right before my impromptu summer-blog break I posted a few cryptic sentences about Employment Opportunities and Life Changes with the promise that I’d come clean once the dust settled. A few months (!) and several posts later I realized I never made good on this promise.
‘Cat, we come here for art and pictures of your cats- beyond that we don’t care.’
Totally cool. Feel free to skip to the bottom of the page for just that.
But I’ve been thinking a lot in the about why I still blog- I’ve set aside my initial aspirations for internet fame and book deals*, my friends/family are kept updated by calls and texts rather than checking here, and yet I still find myself updating this thing- why?
Two, totally selfish reasons- clarity and accountability.
Having a place where I have to put thought down into words- and those words into actual sentences- helps me take ideas and abstract concepts that are swirling in my brain in a nebulous cloud and funnel them into coherency. This is excellent, low-risk practice for when I have to do that to Real People of Import or write Artist Statements (since most galleries/grants won’t except photocopies of sketches and incoherent doodles. Rude.) And writing such thoughts here, rather than in my sketchbook makes me feel committed to an idea/project. Even if no one reads it but me, having it floating around in the public sphere shames me into Doing as much as Thinking.
So, whether you care or not, here’s what’s been going on in the world of Gainful Employ:
A few months ago I was offered a once-in-a-lifetime, now-or-never job as a teaching artist at the Columbus Museum of Art. Taking it, however, meant leaving the best job I’d ever had at Open Door Art Studio. Leaving Open Door, and the beautiful people who work and create there was possibly the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. It had nothing to do with Open Door and everything to do with me- it was a dream job but it wasn’t my dream. There were many tears, more hugs and even more encouragement from all my ODAS friends that enabled me to move forward. I say all that to clarify that when I talk about loving my job at CMA, it is not because I didn‘t love my job at Open Door. (SO MANY FEELINGZ.)
There was more planned but really, I think that’s enough navel-gazing for one day. You deserve some cats;
The Beast Dreams of Elysium
Summer is for Lovers.
Newt in Repose
coming soon to an arts fest near you…
*mostly.
When Sheep Go Moo 