1. Redesign my website. Increasingly I find myself wanting a site where I can show my portfolio of jewelry and metal objects I've made in art school, as well as other forms of art I find myself drawn to (i.e. work with patterns and painting). I want people to be able to see what I've made in the past and what I'm currently working on, not just what I have for sale. I'm in a funny position being in school. The jewelry I'm making right now is very different from what I've done in the past (basically higher-end, metal-based pieces vs. beaded and wire-work jewelry), but because each piece takes so much time and effort, it's hard to offer them for sale. I can still keep chugging along with the strung/wire jewelry because it's relatively fast to make, so that's what I'll primarily keep selling until I've graduated, I imagine. What I sell isn't representative anymore of the direction my art is headed, and I want a way for my website to reflect the whole picture.
2. Train for a 10k. I used to be one of those people who hated running with a passion. Running was suffering, a form of punishment, a way to compensate when I'd been "bad" with food. Something shifted about a year ago. I discovered that I actually love to run now. It's still really hard some days, but the payoff I get in terms of stress management and a runner's high is unbeatable. Rico has also gotten into running, and our New Year's Resolution was to do a 10k. We're targeting a race in September, so this summer is the prime time to train. I'm currently running about 4-5 miles, so it definitely seems like a feasible goal.
3. Work in the studio. I have a lot of projects I'd like to start/finish over the summer. I need to fabricate the clasp and do some final chasing and repousse work on this giant silver necklace I'm making for my mom. It was actually one of my assignments this past semester, and I wasn't able to finish. More on that later. I'd also really like to tackle some side projects that I've had in mind for months. My goal is to go to the studio at school 3x/week.
4. Gardening. Lots and lots of it. We have so much to do at Casa Cali to get the yard in shape, and it's only going to happen if Rico and I are outside with our hands in the soil. We have blackberry and ivy to pull out, a second stone retaining wall to build, vegetables to plant and much more.
5. Home improvements. Paint Rico's home office Azure, a gorgeous hue of royal blue tinged with gray (paint was bought at least 6 months ago and we still haven't gotten to it). Finish replacing the flooring downstairs. We're ripping out old carpet and putting in cherry wood veneers. Rico already did the hallway and the guest room, now we need to do his office and mine.
6. Go to Houston for a long weekend. We have my cousins AJ and Renaud to visit, as well as Tia Lindy, our friend and ex-roommate from our days in Maputo, not to mention my college best friend Angel and her Brazilian husband Tony.
7. Do something lovely for our 3-year wedding anniversary in July. I'm thinking wine or beach, a day's drive away from Casa Cali at most.
8. Paint a few portraits and do some color mixing exercises. I fell in love with painting last year, and sadly haven't had much time to keep experimenting. This summer I'd like to paint my mom's portrait, see if I can find an old photo of my cousin's mom who passed away and try to paint her, and do lots of color mixing gradients. Dark to light, mixing complementary colors, etc. I actually love the technical aspect of learning to paint. I feel it's akin to doing your scales and learning theory when you play a musical instrument, only I always hated that part of playing the piano and avoided it like the plague. :)
9. Go pick fruit in Brentwood and do another round of canning. Rico thinks I'm crazy for liking to pick my own fruit. I think it's loads of fun. I'm thinking cherries again for sure, and maybe some peaches and nectarines.
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10. Hang out with friends. I finally have a small group of people here in the Bay Area I consider friends, and I'd really like to take the opportunity to have them over for churrascos, go hiking, go to museums, go to concerts, etc. Some are school friends, others are random friends, but I'm looking forward to further developing our fledgling bonds.
Do you have any goals or plans for this summer?
3 comments:
That sounds great!!
I took some Argentinian friends out one time blueberry picking and they thought I was NUTS, but their kids LOVED IT and they go every year now (still making fun of me). It's so gratifying! A BFF and I are absolute scavengers together - roadside blueberries (and guavas in Hawaii), ungathered pears from a school ... it's so rewarding!
I should be thinking like it's summer - I'm likely to leave Liberia at the end of the year. Almost 7 months here and I'm still settling in, often favoring quiet time alone to socializing and adventures. And I need to stop working all the time!
So, I shall spend more time at the beach. Finally master my treadle sewing machine and start quilting. Learn to cook Liberian. Spend time with people I like. Travel, travel (in two weeks I'll be in Morocco then Paris; November is Ethiopia with friends on a coffee tour; December back to US for long visit or to stay; and another trip before November - maybe Iceland or Ireland?).
And because it's not really summer ... keep chipping away at those student loans.
I want to shadow some doctors before I start my summer class in July.
I want to simply survive it! It is packed work, and not enough family, personal time and travel. I'm totally unbalanced at the moment!
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