In some ways having a day job is easier than staying home with
my kids, especially since one of them isn’t yet in school (I haven’t
experienced this yet so I can’t say for sure, but being a SAHM with school-age
children, i.e. children who are gone 5 to 6 hours most days, seems like it
might be a slightly different sort of gig than what I’ve experienced thus far,
especially for creative types like myself). While I do miss having a little
more time with my kids and certainly the flexibility being home provided, I’m
enjoying hanging out with other grown-ups and having my own little quiet office
nook, even though the work I do there is not my own.
I love pouring that first
little cup of coffee from my Copco thermos after I get in and get settled at my
desk. My best days are the busy ones, the ones dotted with meetings, when I
feel most productive and, frankly, do less of this dreadful sitting thing. I’m
good at supporting other folks’ work and appreciate the sort of bird’s eye view
I’m getting of the college by working in the president’s office.
But the past couple of months have also sort of intensified
the kind of soul-searching I feel I’ve been doing since last summer, when I
made the decision to, first, be a full-time stay-at-home-mom, no longer capable of
supporting the cost of childcare through my Etsy shops, and then, shortly
thereafter, seek outside employment. This week, during a lunch break at
work, I started to list all of the different things I need and, more
importantly, want to do in the 168 hours we have each week. It’s kind of
stunning how little time I have to tackle the “other/me” portion of my to-do
list.
Sigh.
But! I’ve found much inspiration and amusement this week,
too, and I wanted to begin sharing/archiving that stuff on a regular basis. Since I’m
a self-described "visual artist, crafty generalist, dance enthusiast", I
thought I’d categorize my findings similarly.
ART
If you saw my thesis exhibition back in ’07, you’ll
understand why I’m digging these “cinema snowglobes” designed by faculty
members at the college where I work.
I’ve followed fellow Oaklander (for now, anyway) and artist
Lisa Congdon for a couple of years, ever since I learned about how Cody Foster & Co. was ripping off her illustrations. Potential downside to reaching your tipping
point, perhaps? Anyway, for some reason her work and advice have really
resonated with me lately, including this week’s interview with Monica Lee of Smart Creative Women.
RIP fellow painter and dance enthusiast Helen Frankenthaler.
CRAFT (and design and stuff)
Early this week, a bunch of puff pieces celebrating the
“handmade” success of Etsy seller Three Bird Nest went kinda viral. Abby
Glassenberg wrote a post that digs a little deeper (and gained a new
follower!). Three Bird Nest aside, Abby’s got a great blog, newsletter, and
books for creative freelancers. (Between Lisa and Abby, I have a lot of reading
to do…)
It was a busy evening of following links and checking out tutorials on
Makezine a few nights ago - turn your handwriting into a font plus a deceptively simple surface design hack.
No baby? No problem! Carry your small dog around in a
hand-crocheted carrier. For realz.
When life gives you snow, make typographic messages on strangers’ cars?
DANCE (and everything else)
A conference call in real life. Funny because it’s so
accurate.
This article is like the Delaware scene in Wayne’s World but
I have to post it here because it’s oddly relevant to the introduction of this
particular post. Yep, I’m a clean freak and while I appreciate well-intentioned
advice to “let it go” or hire a housekeeper in order to find more time for myself, it’s unlikely to solve my dilemma entirely.
A quick glance at the Lean In Together campaign with Getty Images appears to
be setting the same unrealistic expectations on working dads. If you’ve been
reading my blog recently, you know how I feel about mixing work and parenthood.
Finally, the dress is blue and black. Obviously.
See you next week. And maybe in between. Have a great weekend enjoying your, if you’re anything like me, 6-7% of you-time. You deserve it.
See you next week. And maybe in between. Have a great weekend enjoying your, if you’re anything like me, 6-7% of you-time. You deserve it.
No comments:
Post a Comment