There’s a few days it’s nice to avoid when you’re a teacher: St. Patrick’s Day if you forgot to wear green, April Fool’s just in general practice, and 4/20 if you teach middle or high school (I hold out hope that elementary school doesn’t have that issue). So I am rejoicing that April Fool’s is a holiday for me this year. So I don’t have to deal with all the lame April Fool’s jokes that 12-year-old brains come up with.
I’m not so happy that it’s the last day of break, but I will survive. It happens every year. It’s a long stretch until summer though. Fifty three school days. Fuck. I know it’s really not, but Spring Break was early this year, so it FEELS long. And I haven’t even started the feeling part yet. Part of it is the 3+ hours I spent yesterday grading ONE CLASS of a project. Sheesh. On the one hand, most of that period turned theirs in. On the other hand, I’m banging my head on my desk over some of the stuff I saw.
Two more periods to go. Gawd. I might die.
I got nothing useful done yesterday, except 4 hours with a newish baby and coworkers, which was definitely worth it. And dinner out. And grading. No fucking art. Man I feel it today. I need some outdoor time. I need art time. Like right now. And a plan for the next two and a half months. So I don’t go nutsy cuckoo. Make ALL THE ART.
But first I’m cleaning out photos. In my pajamas. Because it’s all I can handle at the moment. I went on a hike with the dog on Wednesday. It was a beautiful day, not too warm, but blue skies and fluffy clouds.
Not a soul on the trail but us…
Flowers are still blooming.
I spent a lot of time grading on the couch in the last few days. Kitten kept me company.
She’s really quite adorable when she’s asleep. She can be a bit of a psycho when she’s awake.
So probably 3 weeks ago, maybe 4, I went to an all-women show at La Bodega Gallery and never had time to post pictures. I have to say that the quality was better in this show, but still a lot of same? I had a few that caught my eye.
As you can see, the majority of them were the same size, hung super tightly together. So it was a little hard to give each piece the time and space it needed.
Lots of them were portrait-type images…
Some weirder than others.
All different styles…
And then the relief of a non-portrait…
I need this explained.
One-eyed cats…like tadpoles.
And just a line.
I like the complexity of this one…plus sperm.
And some collage…
This was just cool.
But so touchable…
I’m not the only one who always sees the bones through the skin…
And this was great…I think I read all those books as a kid.
I like the owl. I’m not sure about the big-eyed, half-naked waif.
The hair lines…
One of my favorite artists…keeping it simple.
I’ve had headaches like that…
Just plain fun…
This…this is a book.
I don’t like the idea of destroying books, but making art out of them seems OK.
I just liked this…
And this…minus the shell pieces…
This woman was doing an all-over body painting. She’d done the female before we got there and was working on the male…
I was a little curious if he also had a g-string hidden under there, because otherwise it might get weird. Not bad, just weird (lots of little kids…whatever). I did not stick around to see what would happen next…too many people. Can’t think straight at some of these openings.
I have another batch of photos somewhere…I’m trying to clear stuff out…grading, my brain, the house…before break is over. I know how much the next two months are gonna kick my butt. I need some things to be clean or done before I sink back into the job quicksand. Yeah. I need a raft or something…something semi-solid I can stand on above the sucking so I can walk on.
Oh yeah. I forgot. Art Quilt Elements officially opens in Pennsylvania tomorrow. I’ve been seeing all these posts from the SAQA conference going on in Philadelphia and it makes me feel even more distant from what I want to be doing right now…it’s been such an antisocial, hermit-like break, which I realize is my fault as well, although everyone I know works pretty much, but that’s just kinda how I roll. Going to conferences and quilt shows out of state are just not part of my life. I’m in financial survival mode. And at some point, everything becomes overwhelming. BUT…you can see all the pieces in AQE in this slideshow: AQE Slideshow
My piece…it’s in there with all the abstracts. Some aren’t abstract, but it’s heavily weighted, isn’t it? I guess my quilt gets to hear all the interesting conversations while I’m here. That’s not so bad. And I get to keep making more…funny how that one is such a positive note on gender equality, what we WANT and they’re smiling and holding hands and it all seems so doable. Ahh. Well. It’s what I want, eh?
OK. Get up. Get out. Get doing.
Kathy Nida 