Oh hellooooo. Don’t mind me, as I sneak into your inbox 4 days late.
I was going to say “it’s been a bit of a crawl to the finish”, but decided that wasn’t quite true. I still get a lot of joy out of writing these. This was just a busy week followed by a busy weekend spent at home with friends and family. AKA *not* spent shutting myself off from the world on a Friday for a frenetic 8+ hours of writing. Luckily, I am my own boss here, so it doesn’t really matter when I get these done so long as I continue to feel proud and excited about what I’m sharing :)
This week’s show and tell features a handful of poems I’ve found in the last few months, followed by a comic I drew yesterday, and an update on where my life may be headed.
Isn’t that so sweet? This poem was the epigraph at the beginning of In The Company of Crows and Ravens, by John Marzluff and Tony Angell - a book I bought second-hand for too much money. The pretty illustrations caught my eye, but the epigraph sold me. I’m enjoying it so far! There’s much to learn about crow culture.
My sister showed me this one. It reminds me of how it feels to take a photograph. Or to steal some moss.
“How you stand here is important.” Wow. Write that on my headstone.
This is another one from my sister. I highly recommend having a sister. Probably 80% of all my favorite art and media has been discovered via Sydney.
The river imagery reminds me of my Genesee River project from a year ago. If you enjoy my casual writing and want to read something a little more thought out, or of greater importance, check it out!
I saw this last one on Instagram, which maybe dampened the effect a bit, but not so much that I haven’t thought about it literally every day since.
I’ve always had a very strong sense of self, at least in terms of what I wanted to do. I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t an artist. I always knew that was the direction I was meant to choose. From there it was just a matter of narrowing it down. By what made me happy and by what I was good at.
I sketched for a while as a kid. Then I found photography and discovered it was easier for me, and I was better at it. I never questioned it from there on.
I found RIT, and the possibilities within photography unfolded in front of me. I’m afraid I settled, enticed by the flashy security of advertising. But between those classes about lighting and marketing and (ugh)tethering, I found solace in art history, and philosophy, and bookmaking. I found purpose in using my art to explore and understand and heal other aspects of my life.
Today, between jobs on big sets for big companies, and small sets for small companies, I daydream about all the classes I didn’t take. I make mental notes of the lessons I want to teach. This is my next narrowing down.
I decided a few months ago that I want to go to grad school. I want to read and write and talk about art. I want to work on projects that keep me thinking and learning and inspired, and years down the line, I want to teach.
I feel a little sheepish talking about it. This next step intimidates me, because I really, really want to do it right. I think the fact that it scares me is a good sign. And the fact that for some reason I’m a little embarrassed by it must mean it’s a true, genuine desire. So, grad school it is. Now I just need to figure out which one.
The Justice card represents justice in an obvious sense: fairness, equity, the law, enforcing rules or boundaries, balance by way of action. Going deeper, the card represents truth and true insight. A sense of knowing, ingrained deep within you. As card 11, the figure sits at the center of the 22 major arcana, balancing the 10 cards on either side of them (remember The Fool floats around separate from the rest). Their sword - a symbol of knowledge, intellect, action, power, ambition - points straight up. I sometimes think of the card as a compass pointing North.
Comparing Justice to the High Priestess, you can see many similarities. This card, although also representative of intuition and inner knowledge, is distinct in its emphasis on action. It’s about following, or acting on, or enforcing the truth.
Now that I think about it, it’s appropriate that this letter come out on a Wednesday. What the hell, let’s lean in and make it noon on Wednesday.
Happy first day of June, by the way! Objectively, the best month.
<3
Jordan
👏