I finished Summer School eagerly and although the gig paid $40 hr, it did not turn out as I had hoped. A synchronous zoom class turned into a free for all as all of my students were all over the place, literally. Many had wifi issues because they were camping with family (but got great photos), some worked full time or were away at band camp or in other states with family, etc. I ended up fielding questions and concerns at all hours of the day. While it was all very flexible, it was difficult to contain the class to just the morning hours. I got very frustrated with students who did not understand assignments because they failed to attend daily zooms or read instructions. I actually had one student turn in a photo of her purse as a self portrait. I don't think she was being overly creative, but I could be wrong. Anyway, I think my summer school days are officially over, not just for this year, but for my career.
I decided to leave Rochester on Thursday because Jim had an Army weekend to prep for and Monika was in MI so I was anxious about the cats being home alone. 5 cats are not easy to care for and Erika is still dealing with school and working on her condo. Over the weekend I went to her place to help paint her bedroom and we did a couple of Menards runs for supplies. I also took her to Costco and got steaks! While Monika is away, I'm allowing myself meat. I finally weighed myself since before the surgery. My hope that my uterus weighed 10 pounds did not pan out. I've gained 5 pounds instead. I know I am still dealing with some immflamuation but I've been too free with my eating while living with Jim, who is vegan now. I am unable to swim or do any strenuous exercise, so I really need to buckle down with my eating.
I've been working on this self portrait on and off this summer and I'm still trying to decide what media to use. This draft is combo digital paint and photo but I'm thinking of transferring it to a large canvas and painting it with mixed media, adding fabric and paper. One of my favorite portraits is totally digital from 2013, so I am tempted to keep going this draft on the computer, most likely I will continue to on both fronts and see where things go. I am wanting to show the passage of time, aging, say goodbye to Balt and my uterus and am still struggling with how to do so visually. I often go thru my photos of Balt and cry in missing him. I have started thinking about wanting another Lab, but blonde and maybe a female, just so they are very different but also the same. What I miss most is his body leaning up against mine. There is something so wonderful about feeling the weight of someone who loves you. I don't miss my uterus at all BUT I am so grateful to it for giving me my daughters. It served me well until it failed. How do I show that? Maybe I need to add in photos of the girls as babies? I will continue to tinker...
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