Okay, I've graduated.
I now have my Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology.
Actually, I have to wait for the university to check that all my requirements have been met, yadda yadda, and then they'll confer the degree upon me officially.
Right. I have a master's! Whoo hoo!
It was nice not having anybody say to me at graduation, "Are you going to get your doctorate?" I know friends who have had this said to them and maybe because people don't know what to say beyond "congratulations" or maybe a master's feels like it's really a half-doctorate, but regardless--I'm happy to rest on my proverbial laurels right now for some time. Enough with the homework!
However, it's a reasonable question to ask what I'm going to do next. And the answer to that is: get back to painting, read whatever I want, and relax some. I'm still working (more, in fact) at my internship to collect hours before I can sit for my licensing exam and will be writing articles again for my Examiner.com column, but at least I don't have the specter of school haunting me at every turn.
So. I've got some gesso for a long-delayed commission that involves me painting on wood--a support I haven't painted on yet. I'm looking forward to the experience--sometimes I painted so hard on my canvases that the canvas would stretch and I'd have to do things to tighten it again. Not so with wood!
I'll keep you guys posted. Reentry is still a little odd and I'm getting used to having a semblance of my life back--although I'm not quite the same person I was two years ago.
I'm grateful for that.
Invite Beauty,
I.
Grow an orange tree and grow up.
10 hours ago
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10 comments:
Congratulations Ivan! What an accomplishment! Looking forward to seeing new works and enjoy some down time! :)
Thanks, Jessica!
I'm captivated by the image of your pressing so hard on your canvases that they stretch. I know it would obliterate the mystique, but I'd love to see photographs of your process (of YOU in your process, I mean).
Still photographs, perhaps? :)
I suppose one day I'd allow it. Even a video.
...or a combination of both--stop motion!
I imagine it would feel a bit like a vivisection, but I would love to see not just a blank canvas become a completed project, but to witness the various iterations along the way as you alter and adjust the physical image to suit your mental one.
I tend to underestimate the interest people have in the making of art (in many ways, I share this interest--the making overshadows the final product). I guess being close to the process, I don't quite see the magic in it--just the hard work.
Of all the things I've done, making art is perhaps the most difficult. It is made to be seen, and it is never perfect.
I suppose that's why I love the wabi sabi aesthetic, but the process is still a pain!
Hm, documenting my pain and suffering...
I would be willing to watch documentary-style profiles of local artists to learn about the path that led to their becoming artists and the process of their art itself. More than willing, I would thrilled. So thrilled, I would film it myself!
Hm.
You're convincing me.
Congratulations...Wooo Hooo is right....therapist and artist....me too...Im an MSW....and actually art is one of my favorite therapies..Nice to meet you..!
smArtee: Nice to meet you, too! :)
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