Here's to the "Aughts" . . . .
2000: Moved from Maine to RI for summer, then Iowa City for graduate school.
2001: Noted how impossibly beautiful the weather was, both in New York and in Iowa, on my brother's very unhappy Patriot Day birthday.
2002: Earned an MA in Art at the University of Iowa.
2003: Earned an MFA in Art at the University of Iowa. Moved to Chicago.
2004: Traveled to Venezuela for the first time.
2005: Continued to travel: Mexico, Venezuela, DR
2006: I was 18 all over again. Sweet Home Chicago.
2007: Summer at Gaspee! I was 18 a third time. Mercy. Went to a Halloween Party. Met this guy . . . .
2008: Sold a house, bought a house, turned 30, and got married in the month of June. On November 13, 2008, I gave birth to Annika Tipton Archer, who is delightful.
2009: Settled in to being wife, mother, homeowner, teacher. Gave up on some paths to focus more on others.
Best of all in 2009, I saw my photography work find critical success. This is the most satisfying coda of all for this decade. The high points in the last 10 years for me have been my creative work, my travels, and my new family. To see my work starting to find an audience makes my efforts seem worthwhile.
It was essentially my entire 20's, this decade, and it's over. But then again, so are my 20's. I never could have articulated this life a decade ago, and I know that I did not ever foresee the specific steps along the way. But I can look back at the last 10 years and say that I have ended up exactly where I wanted to be.
Happy New Year :)
12.27.2009
Fall (off the map). Spring (ahead)
Yeah, it was one of those seasons.
Aaron and I took a class at RISD and 12 weeks later, we'd made a book. And it's good. But it's been some work. I'm on hiatus from teaching for a couple weeks for the holidays. Which are now over, obligation-wise. The parties were wonderful, and they kind of passed too quickly.
But so too will this precious slice of TIME OFF until we all go back to work sometime around January 4. So now it's time to bust out the creative work we've been building up to do before the next work cycle starts.
Aaron is drawing drawing drawing. Annika is learning to walk, and talk, and eat solid foods. She's amazing. Amity arrived yesterday. So far she's raked half the leaves in the backyard and has all-but completely rebuilt my photography website. All the while, she's been catching up on her sleep. It's so good to have her here, beyond words or measure. We're planning our trip to the Dominican Republic for February break, which is just 7 weeks away!
And I bought a darkroom today. A guy around my age was selling his grandfather's complete set-up. I even got the man's darkroom notes, in the most impeccable penmanship. Mad cursive. The lot included safelights, easels, 2 enlargers, timers, trays, paper washer, dry mount press, paper cutter, etc., etc., etc. I'm setting it up in the laundry room downstairs. I am now full service. Ideally, I'd have a long narrow darkroom sink for the trays, but I worked tabletop in college and for the scale of printing I'm likely to do, that'll be enough.
The brother has a longer holiday break from law school than the rest of us, so he's coming over to provide handyman services for our now 80 year-old house. Helping with the darkroom is at the top of the list. I want to shoot black-and-white film, and make prints. Just like I did 10 years ago when I first loved photography. I can't wait to get to the DR on the photo safari.
We're also looking forward to weddings in Chicago in March and Cincinnati in April. Aaron's got New York and LA trips all over the calendar.
But for right now, another week, we are OFF. TIME OFF is ON! I want to make T-shirts, set up the darkroom, get ready for teaching 3 classes. Deal with the paperwork. Start fresh for the new year and decade.
Speaking of which, I'm psyched about these decade-in-review things. Do it!
Merry Christmas. Happy New Year . . . .
Aaron and I took a class at RISD and 12 weeks later, we'd made a book. And it's good. But it's been some work. I'm on hiatus from teaching for a couple weeks for the holidays. Which are now over, obligation-wise. The parties were wonderful, and they kind of passed too quickly.
But so too will this precious slice of TIME OFF until we all go back to work sometime around January 4. So now it's time to bust out the creative work we've been building up to do before the next work cycle starts.
Aaron is drawing drawing drawing. Annika is learning to walk, and talk, and eat solid foods. She's amazing. Amity arrived yesterday. So far she's raked half the leaves in the backyard and has all-but completely rebuilt my photography website. All the while, she's been catching up on her sleep. It's so good to have her here, beyond words or measure. We're planning our trip to the Dominican Republic for February break, which is just 7 weeks away!
And I bought a darkroom today. A guy around my age was selling his grandfather's complete set-up. I even got the man's darkroom notes, in the most impeccable penmanship. Mad cursive. The lot included safelights, easels, 2 enlargers, timers, trays, paper washer, dry mount press, paper cutter, etc., etc., etc. I'm setting it up in the laundry room downstairs. I am now full service. Ideally, I'd have a long narrow darkroom sink for the trays, but I worked tabletop in college and for the scale of printing I'm likely to do, that'll be enough.
The brother has a longer holiday break from law school than the rest of us, so he's coming over to provide handyman services for our now 80 year-old house. Helping with the darkroom is at the top of the list. I want to shoot black-and-white film, and make prints. Just like I did 10 years ago when I first loved photography. I can't wait to get to the DR on the photo safari.
We're also looking forward to weddings in Chicago in March and Cincinnati in April. Aaron's got New York and LA trips all over the calendar.
But for right now, another week, we are OFF. TIME OFF is ON! I want to make T-shirts, set up the darkroom, get ready for teaching 3 classes. Deal with the paperwork. Start fresh for the new year and decade.
Speaking of which, I'm psyched about these decade-in-review things. Do it!
Merry Christmas. Happy New Year . . . .
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