7.03.2017

journal / week 4 + week 5



It looks like I'll be mashing the last two weeks into this post, since I didn't get to that week 4 post, after all. June has gone by hopelessly fast. As if someone swept in and threw a week and then some out of the window without my knowledge. Though time's gone by so quickly, looking back, the weeks seem so long ago that I hardly remember what had happened or what I did. In the summer, I always feel an immense pressure to squeeze as much out of my limited warm days as I can. And I always find myself disappointed come July. There's so much more I could've done. Why didn't I? That's what happens when you set unrealistic goals. It's a lesson that repeats itself in life and maybe something that I'm finally heeding.

No matter how hard I try, summer morphs into yet another busy time for me. And this one might just be the busiest. In between commissions, running my shop, school, family trips, endless errands, personal projects, favors, and self-inflicted responsibilities, I hardly have time for the things I constantly promise myself I'll finally have the time for.

This year, I realized that maybe I don't even care for those unrealistic goals that I set for the summer. Maybe that's why I never truly bother trying to make time for them in the first place. Maybe they're not even unrealistic, but they simply don't align with what I actually want to accomplish. 90% of the time I'm happy with what I do on a daily basis; that's what's important. It's July 3rd and I'm nearly giddy with how good this summer has been thus far. In fact, I've accomplished more of the things on my to-do list than I could've imagined.




Last week, I finished designing a third enamel pin (in case you missed it I also created a "cool cake"). I took some time to draw for part of the project I am working on (hint: the drawing in this post will be part of it). On that topic, I recently decided to abandon all that I had created for it up to this point and to start over the way I had really wanted to. I also completed a lot of homework and spontaneously drove to see the horses at sunset. I designed and illustrated a logo. I rearranged the living room with my mom. More homework. Secret project. And Sunday I ended up at the beach (no sunburn!). 




Monday, I had to block print some more tote bags, since the last one was purchased a few weeks before. It took nearly seven hours. I wrote block printing on my to-do list six times because crossing it off once just wasn't satisfying enough. Block printing is an exhausting task and I didn't do anything after those hours of distorting my back. Tuesday, I worked on another part of that secret project. You must be really excited to find out what this secret project is. I'm probably more enthusiastic about it than you will be, but nevertheless I hope you remain excited. I also picked up prints, trimmed them, packaged illustrations, and headed to the post office. Wednesday, I took care of office work and planning. I responded to e-mails I should've responded to earlier. I don't know what it is, but there's just something dismal about replying to e-mails. Stupid, yes? It's so simple to type and click send, but it's one of my least favorite things to do. That and inputing receipts to Quickbooks. Maybe it's just office work in general that bores me. I planned a couple of pieces and took reference photos and created mood boards. I also created a playlist and posted it here. The next day I packaged more orders and headed to the post office. I ran errands and worked on homework. Friday, I worked on a piece for Local Wolves the entire day. The cake enamel pins arrived at my doorstep and I ripped the package open in excitement. I'm very happy with how they turned out. I watched a video for my art history class. We write a lot of essays and I absolutely love it, though it eats up quite a bit of my time. I turned my essay in 4 minutes before it was due. I guess I'm living life on the edge now. Finally, on Saturday I took most of the day to finish another piece for Local Wolves and the rest of the day to work on my other online class.

That's all for this week. Hopefully the next post will be accompanied with more photos. Happy 4th of July! Stay safe and don't play with fireworks. xx


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