If you’ve been paying attention, you may have noticed that I haven’t written a blog post in a couple months. Shortly after I wrote my last entry, I found out I had pneumonia which was not that tight to say the least. I had just started a new job that required me to go back on my resolution to never work jobs just for the money again (plus living with family in a temporary situation) and my soul was in pain. I do not recall being that sick… ever. I was so out of commission that I didn’t even go to the Evidence show; if you know me well, you know how I feel about Evidence. I’m in a better place than I was a few months ago mentally and physically but I still have a long way to go to Achieve the I’mPossible. Still firmly stuck in my own way but I’m holding my metaphorical shovel as I write this and I’ve made great progress over the last few months.
Intergalactic AirBNB - 12”x12” Paper Collage and 3”x3” sticker
A few weeks after I was diagnosed with pneumonia, I got a job managing a micro studio apartment building that offered “free” rent as part of the compensation. The job and place to live could not have appeared at a better time. I won’t go into detail about what it is like to manage this building because I’ve had tenants tell me they’ve looked at my website. I will say that on a daily basis, I feel even more inspired to get my shit together art-wise so I can start my next chapter ASAP. This is the first employment I’ve had in which people hate me just for doing my job. I’ve never demanded much from my building managers so the requests I’m getting from people and the messes I’m cleaning up are truly shocking to me. I prefer jobs in which I am able to clock out so I can allow my brain time to embrace creation mode. That said, this job has allowed me to work on my own personal boundaries and to get better at saying no and for that I frickin’ love it.
Paper Collage On Wood (pre-resin)
Jumping back into the two job lifestyle has been a rough transition but for the first time in my adult life, I know that my bills will be paid if I just keep on going to work. Managing this apartment building and delivering pizza throughout 2019 will ensure that I will be out of debt and actually have money in my savings account in just over a year. A year seems like forever at this point but it will give me time to make art and further fine-tune my car singing. Hanging out with someone other than @TheRingOfDOOM might also be a good idea. I’m making myself go out into the world at least once a week this year because it is it’s own reward. Photo walks don’t count because for the most part I remain in my own little universe and have little human interaction. There’s no need to spend so much time alone on this planet with billions of people on it.
I do enjoy writing every day but at this time I’m still learning how to manage my apartment building management duties and have yet to reprioritize daily blogging into my routine. At this point, I prefer to just do the stuff I want to write about because I’ve already been procrastinating too long. For the most part, I’m finally able to work on my own art after I get home from my second job every night. Inspired by not wanting to put holes in the walls of my tiny 164 square foot micro studio, I started a collage project to decorate my place with art that can be taped to the wall. I have a bunch of 12”x12” square pieces of paper that I’m turning into spacescapes for @TheRingOfDOOM so he can tour the neighboring galaxies while I’m at work. I even made one of my favorite landscape squares into a sticker and magically found some of the stickers on the streets of Seattle already. The stickers are for sale on consignment at Statix and in my webstore. I’d really love to create album art so I’m gonna run with the squares idea for a bit.
@TheRingOfDOOM and Ten Hundred At Statix
These days, I’m all about using what I’ve got instead of getting new stuff. Every time I move, I become hyperaware of how many boxes of art supplies I have and it inspires me to start creating. Since one of my goals is to spend some quality time in Europe, I’m hoping to pare down my stuff drastically over the next year so I don’t have to store too much. Before I go, I hope to pay off ALL my debts less my student loans… including the almost $10K I still owe on my car… so that all I have to pay for while I’m out of the country is my phone bill, car insurance, and storage unit. The crazy part about it is that it is totally possible if I have the inner strength it will take to continue this daily grind. Hoping the photo walks, new favorite songs, collage making, amazing Seattle people, and never-ending supply of art books from the library will distract me from my wanderlust. This year, I’ll do everything in my power to make my 2020 vision come true in the best way possible.
SONG OF THE DAY
Lorine Chia - “I Just Want To Live” 2016 One of the gems on my latest Spotify playlist, Noctember.