It's exhilarating to anticipate the words coming out of someone's mouth so much that you're almost mouthing them yourself as an attempt to coax the phrase into reality. To be in sync with someone so fully that the same things come to mind, gradually moving closer and closer each other in the same sphere, finding humour in the same things, sharing space physically and metaphorically. I've never fully experienced this before and its a strange new world, but tingly and exciting.
I have a new part-time job teaching drawing at Monash University, one day a week for first semester. I'm enjoying the challenge - applying my skills to a completely different discipline. I'm also finding it challenging to project that confidence you need to maintain the respect and admiration of your students - clumsily moving the drawing props, being mistaken for a student by the administration staff, wearing colourful and fun clothes that may not be helping me in the long run. Some of the students want to be there, some don't, and I need to figure out how to fully turn that around.
I've also opened two exhibitions since we last spoke, my solo exhibition at
Daine Singer 'Let Love Shine' and
'Dancing Umbrellas' at Heide Museum of Modern Art, a group exhibition that I have an installation within. I'm proud of everything I've done over the past month, but also exhausted, and wanting to focus elsewhere for the next few weeks. Things are changing, as usual, but I'm encouraging them to change gradually. This is important for me to maintain some sort of strangle hold on where my life is going, but sometimes delays any real progress.
I had a lovely family day yesterday on Easter Sunday, lunch with my boyfriend's family and then dinner with my family - wonderful, soul affirming and laced with laughter. We planned an elaborate easter egg hunt for my twin cousins, we ran around in the fading light of my family garden and the air was still and cooler than it has been in months. I'm buying turtlenecks, long sleeves, preparing for impending winter that I don't dread with the same darkness as I used to - now the lacking light and warmth are just a mild inconvenience because of the wonderful company I'm lucky to keep.
Some pictures from recently in no semblance of order
|
Card by Alice Oehr |
|
Jess Johnson at the National Gallery of Victoria |
|
In SISTER Studios jumpsuit |
|
Dale Frank reflection during install at Dancing Umbrellas |
|
At the Collingwood Children's farm |
|
Don't bother going to the Jurassic World exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. Seriously. |
|
Play school or Art school? |
|
Rainbow wardrobe in the sun |
|
Chicken by Alice Oehr |
|
Decorations by my Mum |
|
At the Dancing Umbrellas opening wearing Alpha60 |