not a lazy suzen

As many people in Eastern Canada probably know, we’re in the middle of a really bizarre late summer heatwave. It’s disgusting. This photo was taken at about 10:30am this morning and already it is almost 40ºC. Gross-o-rama. Moving around town is a huge chore when it is this hot out because it’s the humidity that kills you. I can’t wait for the cool autumn and an excuse to wear velvet jackets and wool caps. Right now I’m having a hard time wearing ANYTHING. If I could somehow peel off my skin to be cooler, I would.

Fingers crossed this heatwave really dies down by the weekend because I’m actually behind in a lot of stuff. I have less than a week to pack up my studio at the university and move my shit back home. I started to do stuff last week but quickly became discouraged upon the discovery of MOTHS in practically everything I own. This is probably the worst thing that could happen because I just have too much stuff to deal with. My solution is to throw out the majority of my belongings rather than risk bringing moth larvae into my apartment. It’s such a pain in the ass but I guess this is God’s way of telling me to de-stash. This is going to be a huge undertaking that I haven’t had the energy to pursue, thanks to the heat. This would be a totally different story if the visual arts building had air conditioning.

Anyway. Enough complaining about the damned heat.

The face mat is progressing steadily. I finally finished the skin portion of the mat. Although, I ran out of beige/oatmeal yarn so I made the sleepy decision to continue with just the white. I thought it would be fine but when I hung the mat up on the wall it just looked weird.

So, I’ve pulled out several strands of the wool to make room for re-hooking more oatmeal in. I think once I do that the skin will look less like a disease and more like an overall pattern.

The next thing I have to decide is on the shades of green I’ll be using for the shirt and then confirm my plans for the background of the mat. I’m thinking shades of blue in very definitive vertical stripes. One of the things I’m really excited for about this piece is picking out the binding for the hem. I’m probably going to use a very bright vintage print that will hopefully make the wall glow when it’s hung. Hmmm!

Anyway. That’s my update for now. There are many other things going on but I’m not at liberty to talk about them at great length yet so I’ll just keep y’all in suspense. In the meantime, stay cool and keep safe from Hurricane Earl.

As the summer comes to a close, I am trying to organize myself for fall. The biggest thing has been trying to figure out how to get all the stuff I have in my studio at the university into my studio at home. I had originally decided to work from home because we had the space (we intentionally chose to live in a two bedroom place so we could have a studio area separate from everything else) but then I got excited about the prospect of sharing a satellite space with some friends. After a week of super excited-ness, I came to the conclusion that it’s just not feasible pay rent on another space when I have space at home. And in my financial state as a poor student, money is taking priority over sociability. I’m bummed about it but I think it’s all for the best. It just means that now I have to manage my time even more to make it feel like I am “going to work” even though I’m still at home.

Anyway! The organization begins! It’s a little difficult to organize around here when I don’t have adequate shelving but I’m making do with what I have at hand. A little later on in September, I’ll be making a huge Ikea run to make my studio life in the apartment easier. The thing I’d really like to have is a flat filing system for my drawings and Ryan’s prints. Right now everything is just stuck in portfolios or laying on top of the boxes you see in the top photo under the desk. Not the best way to store paper but it’ll do for now. I’m thinking that I will probably build a system with the help of Ryan and the university wood shop. This will be a task for the fall when I have a bit of time to conquer my fear of power tools.

Next week will be my official moving week. Every day I will be a packing mule on the subway, completely overburdened with bags and boxes and trolleys. I hope the weather cooperates.

Today, on the other hand, I’m having a combo day of studio and household chores. It’s not even 11am and I have two load of laundry ready to come back up from the basement and the majority of yesterday’s cake dishes washed and dried. I really want to finish the body of my mat today so I can spend the weekend working on the background, however I’ll settle for just getting the remaining skin colour done (Though, I have run out of natural white yarn but I can use this as an excuse to check out the new knitting store on Monkland Avenue – Espace Tricot).

And that brings me up to the obligatory progress update of the face mat:

The mat has reached the point now that it is so heavy it topples my lap frame. I have to position it on my lap in such a way that it is flush against my boobs and my knees in order to keep it upright. This is going to weigh a ton once it’s done.

Oh, and I can’t believe I haven’t taken a picture like this until now. Gees! You can totally see how impressed both of us are (I think Face Mat Suzen is thinking, “Jesus, why didn’t she put product in her hair today? It’s so frizzy!”). I’m going to be really happy when this thing is done.

Finally. The head is done. It has taken a lot of stubborn persistence to get this far. Fighting against a less than comfortable wooden chair and the inability to stay in one spot for too long, I set a goal for myself last night by refusing to go to bed or do anything until the hair was complete. Now I am basking in the glory of having this thing almost halfway done.

My goal is to have this done by the end of the month. It kind of feels like a crazy deadline considering all the other things that are quickly piling onto my plate. Meetings, teaching prep, organizing for a big performance in Calgary, knitting most of a business suit, joining forces with other MFA-ers to rent a studio in Mile End and writing up residency applications for October. UGH. So much stuff! But I think I’ll be able to get this mat complete by the time I have to meet with my thesis advisor in September. Maybe the hemming won’t be done but the hooking itself should be under wraps.

It’s kind of overwhelming when I think about all the things I suddenly have responsibility for. I am struggling to put everything in its place, to prioritize. I kind of feel like I am so busy right now that I am in denial of it. I am at the precipice of busyness. I know if I told my mother this she would tell me to make a list because at least then “you’d know what you’re up against”. And I will make a list–a great big detailed one–but for the time being I’ll give you a small one just so I can share my deceptively chaotic life with the world.

A List of Busyness & Worry

• Teaching prep (includes an array of big, little and tedious things that all have to be done before September 8th).
• Designing and partially completing a three-piece business suit for an upcoming performance with M:ST 5 in Calgary, AB.
• Writing up and submitting residency/exhibition application for A1C Gallery in St. John’s, NL.
• Pack up my existing studio at the university and hopefully move into a new one with a bunch of MFA-ers across town.
• Magically receive my student loan money before the tuition deadline (so far this isn’t looking good).
• Meeting with my advisor to decide when my thesis defence will be in 2011.
• Somewhat definitively state what my thesis is about (like put it into words and then come up with the work to match it)

This isn’t a huge list but within each little point there are so many complicated things that must be negotiated. Sigh. I feel like I’ve stalled before I’ve even started. Ugh!

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this before here, but I suck at not having a schedule. The whole stereotypical fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants artist attitude does not compute with me at all. If anything I have always thrived in fairly structured work environments with a schedule that can be depended upon. I have a tendency to compartmentalize my time, which is why schedules work so well for me. When I don’t have a schedule (like during that residency in the woods), I tend to go a little batty. I lose my sense of purpose completely and end up doing EVERYTHING and ANYTHING at once as a result. No Schedule = Crazy Suzen. This summer has been a lot of that, actually. The only regular steady thing in my daily life right now is my partner’s work schedule and I’ve been trying to organize my day using that as a guide. Now that I’m getting to the tail end of summer when everything speeds up in preparation for the fall, my days have to be regimentally scheduled right down to the hour. Otherwise, how am I going to get everything that needs to be done, done? I think schedules provide a feeling of accomplishment. Like crossing off items on a to-do list.

So what does my Sunday look like? Lots of dishes to wash and biographies to be written. For dinner tonight, pasta with garlicky sauteed zucchini and blueberry yogurt for dessert. Right now, though, it’s time to have that second cup of coffee.