Kick Start

Classes start tomorrow and I couldn’t be more excited about this new semester: 1) I’m only teaching two courses instead of the five from last semester which gives me much more studio time and more time to devote to individual students 2) Many changes have been made to my course curriculum and I’m trying out some new projects like a student “SketchBlog” and a trompe l’oeil assignment including painting and photography and 3) I have been assigned my very first graduate assistant (Welcome Kyle!).

Application season is also getting into full swing. I’ve already applied to around 30 positions and that’s only half way through the stack – I’m really hopeful this year since I did get two call backs last year when I didn’t have any post-grad teaching experience AND I’ll be attending the CAA conference in LA at the end of February. The new course load enables me to spend more time on these applications and (fingers crossed) the interviews that will result.

This week I changed my artist portfolio for the billionth time (it’s a never ending process) and updated my resume with my very first 2012 exhibitions and publications and I’m feeling very energized and anxious for some studio time. It certainly doesn’t hurt to get a motivational kick-start by winning 2nd place in a juried show and having work published in a literary magazine within the first two weeks of the new year.

The 2nd place win was awarded for a post-graduate work, Flight of Memory, in the SeaScapes – Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery – International Juried Exhibition for January. My piece, Along the Void, is being published in the upcoming issue (#5) of the RiverLit literary magazine and blog in February.

Let’s hope I can keep the momentum rolling. I’m looking forward to some good research time over the weekend as I’ve just gotten in a new (to me) book of poetry by Rae Armantrout, entitled Versed, a book called Seeing Trees with excellent multi-layer composite photos, and I’m expecting the new artist book on Shahzia Sikander any day now.

Which reminds me – it’s late and I have class to teach tomorrow. I suppose I should wrap this up and curl up in bed with one of the aforementioned books so I can get up early enough to have breakfast with my husband and drop off the latest batch of job applications at the post office before work.

Busy days ahead!

(If the apocalypse happens and ruins all my plans this year I’m going to be completely miffed.)