Most of the other art teachers out there know that when you get your first teaching job, you're all, "This is great! I'll be home around 3 and have time after school and the weekends to make my own art!"
Most of the other art teachers out there know that this rarely happens.
What happens instead? Exhaustion, and a little bit of frustration, along with making dinner, cleaning dishes, doing laundry, getting ready for tomorrow- you know, life.
Well, with a new year upon us, I've begun my second semester of graduate school. I'm only taking one class- Watercolor on Monday evenings. I was very excited about it when I signed up- it's my first "real" art class at the graduate level, and I couldn't wait to get into a rhythm of creating my own art works again. Taking a class like this was perfect because now I have to create my own work. No more hoping to make time for it- my grade (and more importantly, my financial reimbursement) depend on it! Taking this class is a total motivator in brushing the dust off my shoulders and gearing up to start making some neat stuff.
What's not such a great motivator?
The fact that my class runs from 5pm-10:45pm, on Monday nights. Yep. It's a 5 hour and 45 minute class. This is going to happen every Monday for the next 4 1/2 months. Every Monday for the next 4 1/2 months is going to be an 18 hour day for me. Every Monday for the next 4 1/2 months is going to make me want to die.
Believe it or not, this class is actually shorter than most of my undergrad studio art classes...by 15 minutes. I can remember one year during my undergrad where I made the extremely foolish decision to take a 6 hour morning drawing class followed by a 6 hour evening painting class with just one hour break in between. It was rough, but I was young then.
Now, at the ripe, old age of 27, my body isn't what it used to be.
I often come home around 3pm and nap on the couch, because I'm exhausted. Just this passed Friday, I got home at 4, and woke up to Indy shaking me awake at 7pm. I don't even remember falling asleep!
Last Monday was our first class, so he only kept us about an hour. We did the normal "first day of class" stuff- he introduced himself, gave us the syllabus, our list of supplies to buy, and bid us aideu. He seems like a really fun professor- he has a great sense of humor and seems to know a lot about the medium. I have to admit, though, I was shocked to see how many non-art majors were taking the class. While he was going through our list of materials, a few people kept asking things like, "Wait, we need all of this?" or "Where can I buy art supplies like this?" or "Is this going to be expensive?" Oh, to be a young and naive non-art major.
Having taken art classes for my entire life, I was relieved to find that I already owned 90% of the materials he was requesting. For the other 10%, I drove over to Jerry's Artist Outlet and used some of my $50 gift certificate (thanks ST!).
So while I'm "ready" in terms of materials, I need to spend the rest of today getting mentally ready for the long, long day ahead of me tomorrow. Since today is the superbowl, we'll be traveilng to a friend's house and spending the evening there, eating awesome snacks and yelling things at the television. That means I've got about six hours to: prepare all my belongings (school and class materials), prepare my lunch, snack, and dinner, all of which I'll be bringing with me to school gomorrow, prepare my teaching and then non-teaching outfits so I can change into something a little more comfortable for my 6 hours of watercoloring, and then preparing my belongings, food, and clothes for Tuesday as well, because when I get home around 11-11:30 tomorrow night, all I'll want to do is sleep!
But I've got to try and stay positive, take each Monday as it comes...I think I can, I think I can...
Most of the other art teachers out there know that this rarely happens.
What happens instead? Exhaustion, and a little bit of frustration, along with making dinner, cleaning dishes, doing laundry, getting ready for tomorrow- you know, life.
Well, with a new year upon us, I've begun my second semester of graduate school. I'm only taking one class- Watercolor on Monday evenings. I was very excited about it when I signed up- it's my first "real" art class at the graduate level, and I couldn't wait to get into a rhythm of creating my own art works again. Taking a class like this was perfect because now I have to create my own work. No more hoping to make time for it- my grade (and more importantly, my financial reimbursement) depend on it! Taking this class is a total motivator in brushing the dust off my shoulders and gearing up to start making some neat stuff.
What's not such a great motivator?
The fact that my class runs from 5pm-10:45pm, on Monday nights. Yep. It's a 5 hour and 45 minute class. This is going to happen every Monday for the next 4 1/2 months. Every Monday for the next 4 1/2 months is going to be an 18 hour day for me. Every Monday for the next 4 1/2 months is going to make me want to die.
Believe it or not, this class is actually shorter than most of my undergrad studio art classes...by 15 minutes. I can remember one year during my undergrad where I made the extremely foolish decision to take a 6 hour morning drawing class followed by a 6 hour evening painting class with just one hour break in between. It was rough, but I was young then.
Now, at the ripe, old age of 27, my body isn't what it used to be.
I often come home around 3pm and nap on the couch, because I'm exhausted. Just this passed Friday, I got home at 4, and woke up to Indy shaking me awake at 7pm. I don't even remember falling asleep!
Last Monday was our first class, so he only kept us about an hour. We did the normal "first day of class" stuff- he introduced himself, gave us the syllabus, our list of supplies to buy, and bid us aideu. He seems like a really fun professor- he has a great sense of humor and seems to know a lot about the medium. I have to admit, though, I was shocked to see how many non-art majors were taking the class. While he was going through our list of materials, a few people kept asking things like, "Wait, we need all of this?" or "Where can I buy art supplies like this?" or "Is this going to be expensive?" Oh, to be a young and naive non-art major.
Having taken art classes for my entire life, I was relieved to find that I already owned 90% of the materials he was requesting. For the other 10%, I drove over to Jerry's Artist Outlet and used some of my $50 gift certificate (thanks ST!).
So while I'm "ready" in terms of materials, I need to spend the rest of today getting mentally ready for the long, long day ahead of me tomorrow. Since today is the superbowl, we'll be traveilng to a friend's house and spending the evening there, eating awesome snacks and yelling things at the television. That means I've got about six hours to: prepare all my belongings (school and class materials), prepare my lunch, snack, and dinner, all of which I'll be bringing with me to school gomorrow, prepare my teaching and then non-teaching outfits so I can change into something a little more comfortable for my 6 hours of watercoloring, and then preparing my belongings, food, and clothes for Tuesday as well, because when I get home around 11-11:30 tomorrow night, all I'll want to do is sleep!
But I've got to try and stay positive, take each Monday as it comes...I think I can, I think I can...
via.
Let's see if I still feel this way tomorrow!
Woah! 18 hour day!? Extreme, yes, but at least those five hours will be spent painting right? I'm sure you're familiar with the idiom: When you're doing something you don't like, 5 minutes seems like 5 hours, but when you're doing something you do enjoy, 5 hours seems like 5 minutes. I just applied to a graduate program that will begin this summer (if I get in.) Fingers crossed. Until then, I look forward to checking in and seeing some of your watercolor work!
ReplyDeleteI hope that you're right, and the 5 hours will feel like 5 minutes. Despite my fear of the 18 hour day, I am excited to get started. In fact, I just finished up "shopping" from my own supplies to see what I could re-use or replace from his supplies list. You know it's bad when you've got more variety in products than the local art supplier!
DeleteWow, I've never heard of a class that runs that long on one ending. Two nights a week at three hours each, yes, but almost 6 hours all at once? Holy guacamole! You'd better be liking those watercolors!
ReplyDeleteOne evening, not one ending. Gotta keep an eye out for crazy autocorrections. (As a matter of fact, CRAZY just autocorrected to RACY. Racy autocorrections? These might be fun to see, but not in something that I wrote!)
ReplyDeleteHaha, everyone falls victim to the autocorrect. Sometimes it's quite hilarious. But yes 6 hours at once! I hope I love it as much as I think I will, otherwise, I might have to start doing something crazy like drinking coffee!
DeleteMy hat is SO off to you for doing this. I had a drawing class that I was going to take EVERY SATURDAY and it was going to be ALL DAY and it ended up being cancelled on me. The department administrator called me to try and convince me to switch into another section - that would have been 2-3 hours TWICE a week and I politely said no thanks and that was it. Let's not even discuss the fact that I really REALLY needed that class and should have set myself up for a new one in place of it. *sigh* I just can't do it at this stage of my life. I am already taking six other grad level credit classes, working on the production of Hairspray, trying to still be married AND a mother AND work full-time. I can't do it!!! You are awesome for attempting to!
ReplyDeleteAndrea, my hat is off to YOU! Six other grad level credit classes!? And you're a mother! You're superwoman, seriously!
DeleteWell, you wouldn't have signed up for that class if you didn't think you could handle it, right? You have proved time and time again that you need constant engagement or you go crazy. Think of this as an opportunity to do a lot of self reflection (everybody will be quiet during class, right?)You can reflect on your classes/student progress, future lesson plans, maybe write some new songs for your band, all the while creating beautiful
ReplyDeletepaintings that might bring in extra income. I'm just sayin'.........
:)Pat
I just thought I was a busy person, but I never thought about the fact that I NEED to be busy until you pointed it out, and you're totally right! And you know what? I survived my first real class on Monday, the hours of relative silence (I'm so used to being with chatty high schoolers all day) was so nice! I felt relaxed and focused and it was so nice for a change! And the potential for extra income is totally a perk!
Delete