5.31.26
Studio Vibes
Watching: Bob’s Burgers (comfort show); Heated Rivalry (rewatch for the umpteenth time); a nostalgia marathon of Disney movies (Lizzie McGuire Movie, Cheetah Girls [1 &2], Princess Diaries [1&2])
Reading: The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
Listening: Heavy Serenade by NMIXX (Crescendo is that bitch)
For the longest time, I thought I didn’t need human interaction. I truly believed I was a true introvert - I don’t need to be social. As I’ve gotten older, I've come to admire and acknowledge my introversion; however, I definitely need social interaction. I can tell when I need it too – I feel disconnected from friends and family. It forces me to confront my brain goblins and reach out because relationships are a two-way street. I really noticed it during peak COVID times, but it’ll pop up from time to time now, too. I get too comfortable in my loneliness and have to remind myself that I’m not meant to be a lonely person. It encourages me to reach out and forces me to commit to the plans.
Anyway, this is just a reminder that you are not meant to be a solitary creature and you need human connection. Reach out to your friends/loved ones because they may be feeling the same things you are!
In Progress
To get my brain into a painting mood, I finally worked on my campfire painting! I honestly love the way this turned out. It wasn’t meant to be an exact 1:1 replica of the photo. Truthfully, I wanted to push myself to see if I still could make a painting glow. The answer is yes, yes, I can.
While I’m grateful for a lot of things about graduate school, I do have complicated feelings towards my time there. I think I lost a lot of self-confidence in myself as an artist, and I still struggle with those feelings nearly 7 years later. I often doubt myself as an artist and wonder if I’m still truly one. However, being an artist doesn’t go away just because you’ve taken a break from making work.
This was such a fun painting to work on.
Anyways, I’m trucking along on these paintings and their respective details. I keep bouncing between them like a ping pong ball. Once these are both done (or like 90% done), I’ll finish up the other two paintings that are in progress.
II need to sit down for a day and pretend I’m back in school and paint all day.
Creative Endeavors
I started and completed the toile for my denim vest in one night. I need to take it in slightly at the waist, but I need to confirm which panels to bring in. This was my first time working with a pattern that involved ease, so I was worried that I had chosen the wrong size. Other than being slightly big in the waist, it fits nearly perfectly. I need to put my toile on again and see what parts can be taken in, but the ease measurement did not do me wrong.
My toile that I completed and now can see what needs to be taken in for the final piece.
I also cut out the pieces for my denim skirt, but this should be a fairly straightforward pattern. The one thing I want to test is gathering. Now, I have worked with gathers on fabric before (hello, my multiple cosplays); however, this is a much heavier fabric. I want to test it to see how it works and what may need to be changed.
I do not own fabric weights, so I use books for larger sewing panels.
I’m going to toot my own horn - I’m impressing myself with my sewing skills with each new project. I know I have skills I can improve on and plan to. However, I’ve been sewing for 2 years, and I’ve already tackled some complex techniques. I’ll consider my skills a win!
Other Shenanigans
I am now addicted to Murdle. What is Murdle, you ask? Murdle is like if Sudoku and a murder mystery party had a baby. This past weekend, my aunt and I went to see my dad (to take care of some legal things), and he had a Word Search and a Murdle book. To get his mind off things, I started with the Word Search book and switched to Murdle when I gave him the Word Search. After about an hour, he did something else, and I didn’t stop with Murdle. We left my dad’s house, and I played Murdle online. There are worse things I could spend my time doing.
Murdle has my type of humor.
Speaking of games, after a bit of a break, I started up Echoes of Wisdom again. Eldin Volcano with the Gorons? Easy-peasy. I even got to see an old friend (for anyone who played OoT, you’ll appreciate this).
The Faron Temple in the Faron Wetlands? I can’t tell if I’m loving this temple or absolutely despising it. It’s giving Water Temple from OoT a little bit. YOU NEED SO MANY KEYS! There are so many doors, levels, and little rooms. I finally got a key, but I have to figure out which door to use it on and pray that I can get another key easily. However, if the Faron Temple’s boss is another callback to OoT (think a certain spider queen), it’ll all be worth it. Maybe.
The weekend before, I went out and did karaoke with friends. Now, when I do karaoke, I don’t do the type of karaoke you see in the States - y’know, you get up on the stage in the bar and sing in front of random strangers. Something that’s pretty popular in the DMV is karaoke rooms (think Korean noreabangs/Japanese karaoke boxes), so you can sing your heart out with your group of friends in a private room. The only time you’ll catch me singing is in my car, while cooking, or in a private karaoke room. The vibes of the night were definitely pop punk/middle school dance/2007 YouTube amv. It was so much fun (and the social vibes I needed)!
Finally, I signed up for ice skating lessons this summer! It is going over the basics (and I mean basics):
A. Sit on ice and stand up
B. March forward across the ice
C. Forward two-foot glide
D. Dip E. Forward swizzles — 6–8 in a row
F. Backward wiggles — 6–8 in a row
G. Beginning snowplow stop on two feet or one foot
Bonus skill: Two-foot hop in place.
If I end up loving skating, I definitely want to pursue more classes, honing in on figure skating. It’s a hobby summer, bitches!
An update in two weeks (not three, a promise to myself).