weekly retro #77: blue skies and painted pixels
after a week of smoke in the air and severe thunderstorms and heat, we got to see a week of blue skies and an atmosphere that doesn't burn one's nose more than it usually does around this car-dominated hellscape. this week we were all outside and it ruled.
as i've gotten myself pretty locked into a fitness routine, this week i wanted to do the same for my art. taking time to paint, carve wax and touch clay is as good for my body and mind as lifting weights and walking on the treadmill while watching people outside the window fucking with the delivery robots. does your city have those stupid delivery robots too?
i finally finished this fucking painting after working on it in small sessions, some while livestreaming, over the past two months. and what luck it was that i had just the right amount of pink gouache for the background. i need to figure out how to digitize large paintings like this one that do not fit in my scanner, probably gotta charge the nice camera and set up some lights.
next week is the last class of this semester. i was going to take a sculpting class for the next session, but the instructor i wanted is no longer teaching it, so i'm going to take this wheel class again. as we'll basically be continuing the class, my instructor had us start making teapots. this is an advanced project and i'm looking forward to failing miserably and then trying again and making something amazing.
i've also been breaking through my candle-maker's block and making some good progress on developing techniques for painting wax with wax. it seems like most people who color the surface of their candles are using acrylic or paint markers which is probably fine but i don't have the facility to test how bad burning those materials are so i'd rather stick to wax and dyes made for burning candles.
i had a small crisis this week where i was out of my prescription and my doctor sent the refill and dose increase instructions to a pharmacist i hadn't used in two years. after emails, phone calls, and a few extra miles of walking in the hot sun, i got this month's script filled out just in time. i feel like most things getting worse is from little albeit stupid, avoidable mistakes being made because of people outsourcing their admin work to ai. i'm not even sure if my doctor is using ai, but this situation has never happened before in the 5 years i've been their patient. first they did surgery on a grape and i said nothing...
andy taught pumagreg to give high-fives for treats, since he's not able to jump for them again just yet. he's so smart and soft, and so is pumagreg. also in the cool guys department, i got to catch up with potch over video chat and got to see some of the artwork for his upcoming card game, dungeon deck. it's so inspiring not only to see fresh, human made art, but to witness the process of such an ambitious project as a game is.
things i enjoyed this week
- i love charli xcx's new film for her album "music, fashion, film". i think the music is great sonically and storytelling-wise. she continues to be one of my favorite capital-a Artists and i look forward to watching hours of her press interviews this week.
- our pals damon and von came out this weekend so we can go to the record fair downtown and stop by their friend and former coworker's new baker, feliz deliz which now has a physical location. the iced latte was great, as was the blueberry softserve and chocolate cookie. they serve coffee in these compostable box cups that are really clever and work super well (this is coming from paper straws' #1 hater). i'm stoked to have this spot in neighborhood!
- i would like a studio recording of this PLEASE.
- a family member cut the number of ciggies they smoked from 40 to like 10 (so far - they're still working on quitting entirely) and they already experience so much physical and vital improvement. if you smoke and need a sign to at the very least just lower the number you smoke, i'm telling you it feels miraculous how beneficial it's been in this instance.
as we go into the end of july, i'm feeling pretty good about the moves i've been making towards both creating and sharing my work. as i get out more and see more friends and meet more people, i'm more aware of how awkward it is for me to answer the "what have you been up to" question. this just tells me i'm still finding my voice and purpose, which is both terrifying and exciting. those who know me know i thrive in that frequency.
xoxo jenn