Life lately:

It seems like the move is going to happen around the beginning of July. Funnily enough, I feel like I'm starting to enjoy living here at my parents' house, or at least I'm finally feeling comfortable and "at home". I just wish we knew getting into this that it would be an almost 1 year situation instead of 3 months like we originally thought, but that's life and I'm trying to learn to be ok with its unpredictability.

Other than that:

• We went on a short trip to Tandil for Nox's birthday, it was great
• It was my birthday this month, it wasn't great! I like being 31 though.
• I've already finished my first two crochet projects (a beanie and a scarf). I don't think I'm very good at it, but it's nice to have for long commutes or to pick up and make a row or two between work tasks instead of picking up my phone.
• We just got back from a week long trip to Tucumán, it was our first time there. It was a very needed vacation, not only from work but from living with 4 other people. The north of Argentina has my favourite views, the nature there is amazing.

Art stuff:

I've been having some existential crises around my art and myself as an artist/illustrator/whatever. Basically, since I started drawing again in 2022, I've been struggling with understanding how I want to share my art with the world. Do I want to be a professional illustrator? Be in galleries? Make merch, have a big following on social media? I'm beginning to understand that I'm letting other's expectations of myself, or rather what I think everyone expects of me, make decisions for me, and it's not what I truly want. I'm a chronic people pleaser, but I don't want to please anyone but myself with my work. I want to make what I want, and even though I have the artistic skills, design and marketing knowledge to make this a full time thing, that's not what I want to do right now, and I don't want to pretend it is anymore. I want art to be my hobby, I want to have fun with it and make whatever I want and don't care about people's opinions. I love my job and it gives me enough time and money to pour into my art practice. I'm basically going "fuck it", the only rule about my art is I need to make it and I need to share it, I don't need to optimize shit, and that goes both for the marketing side of it and the type of work I'm doing.

Atelier update, June will be my last month of going there, after that I'll continue online. I expect to be busy with the move by then, I'll really miss the in person classes, really my least favourite part of moving to a small town.

Life lately:

On the first week of the month we received the news that our moving date is getting delayed because of the bad weather we've been having. We are waiting for the family who's currently renting the house to move out, and they are waiting for construction to be over at the house they are moving to, but the rain is making that process extremely slow. We should've moved by now, but it's looking like it won't happen till June or July. We've been staying at my parents home for 7 months already, and while the cohabitation situation has been as amicable as it could be, it does feel like a liminal space and time situation, like our lives have been on stand-by and will be until we resume to living alone again. We are trying to make the best of the situation, and look at the bright side. We are saving money, and we get to enjoy the city and spend time with friends and family while we aren't 80 kilometers away from them.

Other than that:

• Nox and I are going on a small trip for his birthday next week.
• I haven't been playing video games or watching films at all lately. All of my time free is going to art and learning new things like ceramics and crochet. I really need to do more physical activity though. My back and joints are suffering from me sitting around all day.
• I'm protesting the defunding of public universities in Argentina, you can learn more about it here

Art stuff:

The past months I've thrown myself into drawing and painting, the only downside being that since I work on a computer all day and draw until bedtime, I've become pretty sedentary. I'll try to work on that going on. But going back to the art, here's what I've been up to:

• I've been drawing a lot in my sketchbook and, surprisingly, a lot on the iPad. Digital art has never been my strong suit, but I'm starting to get the gist of it and not only seeing the use in it but actually enjoying it.
• I started going an extra day a week to the atelier. Since I won't be able to go once I move, I figured I'd get as much in person practice as possible. It's tiring, as it's a long bus ride and the classes are 3 hours long, but it's making the weeks fly by and I can see myself improving a lot.
• I studied Graphic Design at Universidad de Buenos Aires, and there's a new-ish postgraduate illustration program. They only take in a small amount of students each year, and there's a selection process that includes a portfolio. I have no idea if I stand a chance, so I'm hesitant to make the effort. But let's just say, I'm thinking about it.