Redefining roles

I’ve been pretty terrible at blogging recently, and not for lack of material. During my month away from stringing words together I’ve been working on redefining so many aspects of my life, some by choice and some by necessity.

Four months ago I was an architect, or rather my job was architecture. It’s not who I was, but what I did. I did it well, and it treated me well. It wasn’t everything I was hoping it would be in the end, but circumstances were hard for everyone. When work slows down it’s never what someone was hoping for.

Three months ago I started working on my artwork again. I started looking for some kind of job that would teach me something new, something more than just what I do. I also started looking for a new place to live, because being unemployed doesn’t lend itself to living in one of the swankier neighborhoods in the city. I seriously considered graduate school, but put that idea aside after a quick time x cost = broke for the rest of my life calculation brought me back down to earth.

Two months ago I landed an unpaid part-time gallery assistant internship at a gallery here in Philadelphia (which has been an eye opening experience in a very short period of time), and looked for part time gigs painting sets, whipping up drawings, and taking photos.

Last month I paddled into completely uncharted waters, and moved into a townhouse with the boyf. Sure, the question of whether I was ready for this sort of thing or not floated through my brain, but the answer has consistently and excitedly been YES. Moving is always a huge pain (I swore I’d never do it again after moving into my last apartment), but every time I turn the heart-shaped lock to our new place I feel like I’m at home. Not only do I have a new “roommate” but the new place comes with the added perk of a studio space! The ideas have been bubbling up almost constantly and my creative mess is confined to a specific room.

At this point I’m still on the look-out for a full-time job with “security” and the typical 8-5 framework, perhaps even in architecture. At the same time, I’m not insistent on looking at the future from only that perspective. There’s a lot to consider, and I’d like to think I’ve started the search for the things that I truly want to do day in and day out. For now, that search has started right here at home.