And So It Begins... Again

Day 1. Semester 2, 2015

Current Inventory:

• 2 packs of 3-ply tissues
• 1 throat spray
• 1 water bottle
• miscelanious books and textbooks
• lots of stationery

So dear readers, seems I have gotten sick again and just in time for varsity. Which is quite unfortunate seeing as second year parking is so far away from the School of Arts. But that's okay, I will survive this week one way or another, hopefully whilst recovering in the process.

Anyway, back to varsity vexes. I've survived semester one with fairly decent marks and have made it through to the next half. It's quite exhausting being back, and not just because of the runny nose. I guess just the state of mind you have to be in to do well at varsity is quite exhausting, as well as the amount of concentration and focus you need to have to get through one lecture.

So today I decided to write a handy dandy list of varsity hacks that will maybe make your life a little easier!

HOW TO BE A GOOD UNIVERSITY STUDENT 101

1. Go to all of your classes if you can. Last semester I went to every single Art History lecture and the lectures helped me more in the exam than all of the reading packs could have. It might be a pain, but you're paying tuition fees to make a career,
2. Take Notes! Whether you like to type them out or write them in a notebook (like me), taking down  notes will benefit you so much when it comes down to exams and assignments.
3. Now on that note (sorry I cannot resist a cheesy pun), keep your class notes organized! It doesn't really help you if you take all the handouts and making notes without being able to make head or tale of it afterwards. Thanks to Pinterest, I've found a few little note-taking hacks that really worked for me! One of the most useful things I've learnt is making an index on the first page of your notebook or document. Number your pages and add them to the index after each lecture. It helps so much knowing what page to find certain topics on!
4. Colour Coding: Ok I know this one isn't for everyone, but I've found that colour coding my subjects and study notes makes them far more appealing to look at. Not only that, it also makes it a lot easier to organize all your information.
5. Pack your stuff the night before. Check your timetable and make sure you pack all your material the night before to avoid the early morning rush! Getting to university is stressful enough without realising you forgot your assignment on your desk this morning. 
6. Keep a diary (Or at least a calendar app), take down deadlines and mark them as soon as you know them so you don't end up forgetting to submit assignments.
7. Always check your student email. Seriously.
8. Arial. Size 12. 1,5 spacing.
9. Good grammar will get you far, always use spellcheck and proofread before submitting anything!
10. Procrastination has led to the failure of many a promising student. As a good friend of mine once said "The sooner it's done the sooner it's done"

 Until we meet again

Talia

And So The June Countdown Begins...

Happy Mother's Day dear readers! If you forgot it was Mother's day then shame on you! Yes, I know it's only been 35 minutes (in South African time) but that's no excuse. Today is the day you take a moment to appreciate all the things your mother does for you everyday, not to mention the nine months she had to haul you around before that.

Now... I know it's late and yes I should probably be in bed by now... But unfortunately my workload seemed to magically pile itself up in one week to have all the time consuming elements take place in uncomfortably close proximity to one another. There always seems to be a million things to do when you seem to get one huge deadline out of the way... The list is constantly growing and changing... Kind of like life I guess. If things stopped changing and we didn't have to adapt, I think we would all get bored eventually.

But the frustrating thing about the workload now... especially for sculpture and printmaking, is that it takes so long to produce a single piece of work. After so many weeks of being back, I only have two final etching prints, a sculpture drying in the sculpture studio and a complete set of photos that still need to be made into a book. That's not much considering how much work and time has gone into everything...

I'm just itching to draw or paint something that I can look at when I'm done... But the saddest thing is that time won't allow me to do that until June... and that's still another month away before I can breathe normally again. But the show must go on, and no mental breakdowns can be allowed near the etching equipment. For now I don't have many pictures of work to share, but I promise I will post them all as soon as I can.

Happy Mothers Day dear readers!

Until we meet again
Talia

Who Needs That Many Fireworks Anyway?

Do you ever feel like there's so many things to do, so many things you want to experience, that your mind actually tells you it's impossible to achieve them all? I do that a lot... I can focus on the present for a certain amount of time, then my brain decides it wants to think about things that would be fun to do... Only this time it was different.

I started thinking about all the things I'd been wanting to do, achieve, accomplish... Whatever you'd like to call it. There's a million thoughts buzzing through my head, crashing and bursting... I guess you could say like fireworks on a perfectly clear night... You know the stars that stay constant and shine in the distance, but the fireworks are so loud and bright that they distract you from the things that stay constantly beautiful... Even if they're light years away. I would say that all the fireworks are thoughts about today, tomorrow, next week even. My mind is so drawn to those that I've forgotten the stars in my mind, visible only on a clear night, the thoughts that are about things relatively far away.

The all knowing They say that right at this moment, time is a gift, and that's why it's called The Present... But the little clause they tend to leave out is that the present only means something when there's a future ahead... A goal you could say. I think I've been good with the present, but all those fireworks have made me forget that the present is always leading to the future. Once the bright colours and noises have faded away, the stars are what remain there no matter what.

Mental stars are different for everyone, some people focus on one constellation, others a single star... Some chase after a shooting star (only to figure out it was a plane). Some spend their whole lives searching for the star no one else has found. For me, I can say I've focused on one constellation my whole life... the one that kind of looks like an artist. But I had a moment of clarity... and there's a sky full of other stars out there... Ones that make you realise there is so much more to life than a single constellation. I guess you can say that from now on, there will always be a set of stars that shine brighter for me than all the others, the ones that will shine clearer even through the fireworks on a mental New Year's Eve.

Oh and dear readers, I know I talk about the sky a lot. It helps to think about the universe out there, that there is so much more to life than the little things that bug us every day. The one thing I love about load shedding (scheduled power outages due to strain on the grid, for those overseas), is that when the lights go out, if you stand outside, you can see the stars clearer than on any night in Johannesburg. I guess now I don't need the lights to go out or even for it to be night time to see my own stars.

When in doubt, find your own stars dear readers.

Until we meet again

Talia

The Ultimate Aim of an Artist

Today marks the passing of the first week of March. As I'm sure you've noticed dear readers, Time seems quite important to me. And the truth is that it is. Time is the one thing that no human being can escape from, no matter how hard you try. Time can swallow you whole and never let you see the light of day again. But time can also remind you of how precious each and every moment of your life is. Time can be generous.
Time can be deadly.
Time is what you make of it.

That is what I've noticed this year. Even though I've spent each day of this year doing something meaningful to me, whether it's through work or pleasure, it still astounds me how quickly time seems to be going this year.

On Friday afternoon, for our Fine Arts lecture we had Francis McKee lecture us. He is a Scottish curator. I found him to be incredibly bubbly and cheerful considering the depth of the things he was telling us at times. One of the things he said really got to me.

"Immortality is the artist's ultimate aim"

I have never heard it so plainly and profoundly worded. Time is what the artist ultimately aims to defy. Even though we only have a finite amount of time to make work, our main goal is for the art we make to outlive us, to become immortal. Our souls become immortal as artist's because they are entrenched in everything we do. And here I think it applies to so much more than just visual art, it applies to writing, poetry, music, anything that carries a small fragment of us. 

I think these little profound gems that people share are so easily lost among the world, purely because the world doesn't pay enough attention, or take enough time to see it. People ask me how I always find something to write about (whether it's through my blog or in my daily journal), the truth is this. There will be more words than I will ever be able to write, all I have to do is pay attention. There is more inspiration in this world in each and every human being than I will ever be able to make art about. But if I can create one inspiring piece of writing or a work of art that lets people see a tiny bit of the magic in this world, and it becomes immortal, I think I have done my job as an artist.

It's time to start immortalising the important things in the world. 

Until we meet again

Talia

Time Waits For No Artist

Today is the First of March...That means that 1/6th of the year has already passed, and so quickly it seems too. I'm not sure if it's just me, but it seems like every year seems to move faster than the one before it. Time can be quite terrifying, it feels as if there is never enough but at the same time it can be overwhelming... how quickly a long space of time will actually pass.

Perspective wise, I have spent 12 years of my life in school. That is more than a decade of time that seemed to go so quickly... and now I'm already in my second year of my degree, another two years and I would have completed my undergrad.

So as you can plainly see, dear readers, Time has been breathing down my neck as of late... But that's alright. It's what you make of your time that counts more than anything else. And I have to say, I guess that's why productivity matters so much to me. During the 3 month holiday, I did feel like so much potential got wasted. So now I guess I'm trying to make up for it by being productive.

And I have to say, I am liking being back at varsity. Yes it means crazy traffic in the morning and unspeakably bad admin, but the truth is, I thrive on working and making things, I am starting to feel like an artist in the making. Even keeping this blog going is in some bizarre way helping me to stay sane!

For now I don't have much new work to post, mostly because it's still being made, but you shall be the first to see anything new my dear readers. Remember, being busy doesn't necessarily mean being productive!

Until we meet again
Talia

The Manufacturing of Time

So, this week I had an epiphany... and it happened to be art related! A few days ago, someone very close to me asked why I haven't entered any art competitions yet... I was surprised by my speechlessness when I was supposed to answer the question like a normal person. And then the realisation hit me like a taxi driver in Johannesburg...

I've never entered an art competition because I am in fact an idiot who chose not to seize opportunities.

Initially, this might not seem like the most mind-blowing epiphany... but when I thought about how many opportunities I'd missed by choice, I felt like slapping myself. Repeatedly. With a paint filled palette. When I was in high school and during the semester at varsity, my excuse was that I didn't have the time. And the truth is... it was just a pathetic excuse:

This saying I stumbled upon also slapped me in the face a few times, but it was a good kind of slap, the kind of slap that makes you face reality (pardon the pun). So for this year, I have decided to seize opportunities, no matter how small or  insignificant they may seem. You never know where a good opportunity my take you, so why reject it when it could take you places? And the funny thing about the creative field is that it seems like there aren't all that many opportunities, if you don't look closely enough. The truth is that there are more than you could ever imagine, all you have to do is pay attention.

And so dear readers, I am off to go draw and maybe grab a few opportunities along the way... If you have any suggestions as to how I may exhibit or show my work (Both in South Africa and abroad), please let me know.

Until we meet again

Talia

AWOL

Typographic Work In Progress (made by going AWOL)

And so another week of the New Year has passed, and with each passing week the beginning of varsity draws closer... It finally seems that the compulsion to draw, paint and just being creative in general has returned with even more urgency than during the later stages of 2014.. But I've discovered another sense of liberation that seems to have lain dormant in me for many years.

About two weeks ago, my next door neighbour invited me to walk to the park with her and her puppy. Even though I'd driven past the park almost every day during the semester, I'd almost forgotten that people were supposed to actually walk through it. The walk to get there didn't take long, but the pure joy of not having a phone with me was the most liberated I'd felt in a long time.

Without the perpetual distraction of a phone with me, I was able to enjoy the place I was in with all my senses without the persistent online distractions. It was unbelievable just to be outside and not have to worry about a phone. Now I don't mind talking to people on the phone, the instant communication can be quite gratifying... but sometimes it's just plain healthy to disengage. Breathe the fresh air, feel the grass tickling your feet, listening to the sounds of children laughing. There are so many tiny miracles of life that just get ignored and ultimately forgotten because we are so tangled in the world wide web.

I also find that concentration is so difficult when you're constantly checking your phone, your email, or whatever else is pulling away at your attention. So now when I feel like I want to draw, I end up putting my phone on silent and hiding it under a pillow.

So dear readers, you might be offending a few people but choosing to go AWOL, but you might just save your sanity and give your attention the things that really matter.

Until we meet again
Talia

Hope

Ah Dear Readers... I have returned yet again, and I am quite proud to say that I have survived yet another season of silliness! No, I don't hate Christmas and No I definitely do not hate the New Year... In fact, I've grown a certain fondness for the celebration of a New Year.

The build up to the New Year is one of the few times that almost people seem to have a connected energy that fills the air with the kind of electricity that is deeply exhilarating. I read a little quote today (whilst it was still New Year's Day, mind you) that summed up this phenomenon perfectly.

"New Years Eve. The evening of little miracles. Peel away the exploding fireworks, roaring countdowns and ridiculous resolutions and what you are left with is hope. Small human hope. The hope of better days, of fresh starts and perhaps, if you are very lucky, a kiss."
-Beau Taplin

Quite the perfect summary isn't it? Hope. Such a simple little world that bring the whole world to celebrate one night that will bring every dream and aspiration that much closer to us achieving them. I never thought about a new year bringing something as instinctual to humanity as hope. If you're not too hungover on New Year's morning, it's difficult not to feel the infectious air of this being the year you can change the world.

And the truth is, you can. You can change the world. Starting now. Chase your dreams like time is about to swallow you into oblivion. Chase your dreams like they deserve to be chased. No one will ever be able to live your life for you, so if you've been putting off those resolutions for two or four years, make the effort to actually see them through.

Hope is infectious. Bottle up whatever you can now whilst it's overflowing from every human being. Savour it for whenever you feel like you can't pick yourself up again. You've just been given the clean slate, now start your new chapter.

Happy New Year Dear Readers.

Until we meet again
Talia

Who needs juggling when you're not in the circus?

I have returned... unscathed dear readers! My meeting with X went quite differently to how I had expected, but that is probably a good thing considering how tragically my mental worst case scenario ended. I apologise for having vanished for two weeks without posting, it turns out that managing a social life and productive blog with load shedding (international readers, this is the concept of scheduled power outages due to strain the on the power grid of South Africa) is surprisingly frustrating.

Speaking of frustrations, today I have been pondering on the idea of balancing. Balancing here meaning the careful juggling (and logic-defying) act of trying to do everything at once. A close contact of mine who specialises in untangling the thoughts of the human mind has reminded me that human beings are not particularly built mentally to deal with multitasking. We are built to complete one task at a time, yet society tells us that "all-rounders" are the successful ones. The epiphany that most of us experience at one point or another is that trying to balance everything perfectly at once is damn near impossible to achieve.

I have this particular flop at balancing between my time at University and when I'm on holiday. When I'm at University I am the most productive I can ever be, and I stay that way until there is no more official work to be done. The productivity feels relatively effortless... until it becomes holiday time. Now with no more deadlines, my productivity immediately flounders like a fish caught out of water. With all the time on my hands, running between my fingers, I do all the things I don't have the time for in varsity. Examples would be savouring a cup of hot tea instead of gulping it down, reading the newspaper for more than the quick headlines, READING BOOKS, going hunting in second hand book stores... and I think most importantly, spending quality time with other people.

I've been so isolated by my work this year that I've truly forgotten what it feels like just to enjoy other peoples company. But I think that also has a great deal to do with the new friends I've made this year. Some of them I feel like I've known for many years as opposed to just under one year. I enjoy being with them, so much so that I actually have a social life that makes every outing worthwhile. So I ended up having another epiphany: sometimes dedicating all your balance to one area of your life isn't such a bad thing. If productivity is maintained the rest of the year, then I see no reason why it cannot take a backseat when you get to spend quality time with the people you care about.

So yes, I haven't been making much in the way of art, but I have been making memories that I doubt I'll forget anytime soon. Sometimes you have to make time for memories, your work will still be there when you get back.

Until we meet again
Talia