The Blog Tinkerer

Sounds like the title of a meaty novel with a reading group discussion guide at the end, huh? I spent the evening trying to figure out how to do things with Blogger--a frustrating couple of hours, but I eventually did make the basic changes I wanted to make. I think this is what I do instead of exercising.

I've been looking at my sister-in-law's work at Whole Cloth Designs--well, not just her art/craft, but the blog itself--both are beautiful. I get excited reading about what she's making, and I feel so sistery when I read how she weaves her parenting and art together. Making art--that is, making the time and mental space to make *anything*--has gotten so much easier for me since Elliot and Astrid have gotten bigger. Carrie's entries take me back to the days when it was....well....not easy. I couldn't think in terms of projects, the way I do now. I am astonished at what Carrie manages to do.

At work today a colleague with two young daughters asked me what I thought about starting a support or discussion group for faculty with children. She was saying how she feels that her life as a parent has to be submerged when she's at work. I know what that felt/feels like. I have felt the same way about the art I make--for the longest time, I didn't tell people how much I thought about making art, how it's often much realer to me than the scholarly work I try to do (but have trouble doing now that I'm a parent). I'm a good deal more "out" about both parts of my identity....especially now that I am crafting a research agenda that focuses on craft, sewing, gender, and motherhood. The parenting work/paid work balance doesn't seem to have gotten easier (we really do need a group for parents at my job), but I've made progress in integrating my worries, dreams, and coping mechanisms into verbal and tactile channels.