A Bad Case of the Mondays

It’s been a while since I updated this journal. Hopefully the fact I’m back reflects a change for the better.

On the monday two weeks ago I just did not come in at all. I was feeling awful and I don’t even remember why. But despite The best efforts of my support worker I just would not go outside. I was able to make it in for the rest of the week. I don’t truly remember what I was doing. Walk cycle stuff I think. I’ll cover it more when I do my next journal on walk cycles, whenever that may be. But it wasn’t a great week. I remember feeling lousy and not getting much done.

At the start of last week I was feeling utterly lousy. Like I was living at the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean. No light and a lot of pressure. Late February is a bad time for me for personal reasons. I did not want to come in on Monday in the slightest. But I was talked into coming in at least for the opening talk. And I will confess it was a very good talk. We got to talk about Archetypes in literature and watch a Bugs Bunny short. But when it was done I had to go home. I felt exhausted. Again I was able to come in for the rest of the week. But I remember my working being slow. I felt I spent the whole week just catching up.

We had to make characters now. Using two archetypes and the shapes we associated with them. I’ll cover this process in full soon. But in the end I did come up with two new and in-my-opinion very unique characters of my own. I feel very pleased with the final designs I settled on. But I was so slow in getting it done those designs weren’t complete until yesterday. Which brings me to….

One the Monday of this week again felt just kind of awful. I hadn’t showered or shaved in a while and as soon as this week’s lecture started I felt my face and neck (I have long hair) itching like crazy. I wanted to get out. To run away. When I found out we were doing collage work I felt my heart sinking. I did not know this until yesterday. But there’s something about the thought of cutting and pasting from magazines that I can’t stand. Maybe some leftover truma from Junior primary school? Maybe just how complicated it sounds. Whatever the reason, when approaching the table with all the glue and magazines I literally ran away I regrouped, and decided to finish of my design work. Which went well. In fact very soon the insane itching totally vanished.

I don’t know where my fear fear of cutting and pasting comes from. I don’t mind looking at collages.One of my favorite artists of all time, Joseph Cornell, worked in collage. Albeit unique ones. I’ve also liked the collages of Ben Nicholson and Henri Matisse. And that’s when inspiration struck! I would do as Matisse did. I would cut out large pieces of coloured paper and make versions of my characters using them. This did not inspire terror in me In fact it sounded kind of fun. I pitched the idea to Owen and he was onboard with it. I prepped my supplies and started drawing. But I just felt tired and slightly ill so i decided to go home. It was only two a’clock (And thanks to bad traffic I didn’t get home till 3:30.

To recap. Two weeks ago i didn’t come in at all on Monday. Last week I only stayed in for one and a half hours. And this week I made it till 2:00 on Monday, I hope this means my bad case of the Mondays is getting better and next week it won’t affect me at all. Here’s to hoping.

As for my Matisse’alikes, they’re coming along well. I know I’ve said this twice already, but I’m hoping to have a journal about them soon. Today felt okay. I’m still slacking a little. But I feel little of my grove coming back.

Kudos.