It's been a while, hasn't it? I apologize for neglecting all of you daily-internet-bookmark-checkers out there. It sounds a lot cooler to say "I needed a break from the obligation of entertaining an assumed internet audience," or something to that effect, but in all honestly, I've been lacking in the time and energy department as of late. I'm lame. Sorry about that. Maintaining the illusion of a hard-working picture-painter is hard work, evidently. But, whoop-dee-do, right? No pity party, please. I have a blog...that's code for cushy lifestyle attuned to lazy hipsterism and internet self-aggrandizing...I'm doing just fine.
As some of you may know already, I'm a school teacher in addition to bona fide painter of pictures. The most stereotypical cliché of an art teacher you can imagine, in fact. Here's the kicker...the past several weeks of teaching teenagers how to make pinch pots via webcam has only reinforced the fact that I'm a somewhat pathetic pseudo-version of what many people, including my students, can only hope to aspire to be—an "artist." But ironically enough, I've done nothing of artistic importance for as long as I can remember now, outside of sharing each weekday with my students and fostering friendships I hope will last longer than the average high school career. That has to be art, right? If it is, I'm okay with that, even though friendship is a hard thing to hang on the wall and far from noteworthy in the history of picture-painting. But let me tell you something I'm sure of—in these pandemic times, within this realm of teacherdom I've deemed so artful and sacred, there is only one sentiment I've had the opportunity to truly communicate....and it's this...
"Put your mask on!"
No kidding, I've said it well over a hundred times today. Oh, and "Please turn on your webcam and speak towards the microphone when you have a question about your art assignment." Seriously folks, the most productive thing I've done for the past week outside of health and safety announcements has been the re-application of "hash-marks" on my classroom rulers with a sharpie marker after inadvertently wiping the print off during a routine disinfecting of my classroom. The rest of my days have been entirely consumed by yelling at a bunch of initialed icons on a computer screen from across the classroom while sanitizing my hands until the skin peels off. If I hear "new normal" again I'm going to puke...into my facemask. And I'm thankful for all of this, of course, because a complaint spoken in the wind will eventually fall on deaf ears somewhere...and that's more than what many could ever hope for. Damn it, I've got it made.
Anyhoo, I've got a picture-painting announcement in the works...so stay tuned...or don't...whatever.
