January 2nd, okay...

Hi folks.

Okay, after my rather cynical and depressing New Years message, I've sort of recovered. Well... A bit.

There's still a tonne of things to get over, and do, and I admit to being a bit frightened by them all. You see... I've done this before.

Oh, not that whole "marriage thing." No, first time for that one...

But the whole, get done with school, and try to find a "job thing" that's the one that's kicking me in the ass. The shite thing about it, is that I've been psyching myself up about it since last June. I knew that it was going to be a bitch, but I was hoping it wouldn't be too bad. Well... It is. Okay. I'll have to deal with it.

It's the "fun childhood" slipping into "extreme adulthood" movement that tends to be rough on all of us. I've done something that most of us "adults" do NOT do... At least, not until some sort of mid-life crisis... The "career change" portion of our lives.

I had finished my BFA in photography, and was teaching at a catholic high school in Richfield. Now... It's a Catholic school, so my salary was pretty rough, but every year, I'd get a bit of a pay raise, and life was beginning to settle down. And I left.

(Okay, they were probably going to be firing me anyway, so... I suppose my choices were limited)

I decided to go get my MFA, and thus be able to teach at the university level. Wow... I thought, that would be "great!"

Hmm...

Well... See the thing that's put a bit of a hole in my plans needs a bit of an explanation.

There's certain things one must do to be an art professor at a University or Art College:

• Have an MFA (check on that one)

• Maintain a professional level of artistic exhibitions (check on that one, although, I need to get working on MORE of them.)

• Have prior experience teaching at the university level. (check on that one too.)

• Teach at least THREE years at the secondary level. (This was the hardest one to swallow... But universities were noticing that a LOT of their professors didn't actually know HOW to teach. Thus, by hiring folks that have actually dealt with the ins and outs of the secondary school system... Rubric writing, committees, course creation, seminars, teaching retreats, and five classes of 30 little snot-nosed children per day... That my friends, is learning to teach... In the trenches, I'll tell ya.)

• Have 20 professional slides/transparency's of your own brilliant work. (check)

• Have letters of recommendation from 3-5 professional folks. (check.)

• Have 10-20 examples of student work. (che... WAIT A MINUTE?!?!?!? WHAT? Okay... That one I do NOT have. You see... When I started my 10 year journey to becoming an art-prof... That wasn't a prereq to becoming a professor. That's a new "thing" that has started up in the past year. I don't HAVE any examples of student work. And until I teach again, I won't have any... And until I HAVE some, I can't get a job teaching... Ad infinitum.

Hmm...

So... I'm stuck. I'm down to a few jobs that are NOT asking for said "student work" and I'm applying for those... And I'm also asking around and "networking" for a job somewhere in the Cities...

What am I doing until then? Working in the studio.... Trying to get into more exhibitions... Working on my new website with My Lady and starting some "podcasting" ideas... And working in the studio... And etc... etc...

I'm fine. Fi's fine... And we're keeping busy.

Thank the gods.

Take care readers... Smiles and kittens. Slàinte!
T