One Month of Teaching
I’m back in the classroom! Lesson planning, studio painting, and finishing up my class at UMA…
It has been such a busy month! To keep track of all that’s been going on I’ve been journaling my progress everyday. It helps to keep things in perspective, remind me of what I’ve accomplished, and what I have yet to accomplish. I began teaching almost exactly one month ago today at a private daycare/homeschooling pod in Windham. My class of K-1 kids are active, smart, and are a challenge on occasion! I’m finding my groove now though, and this past week before spring vacation went the most smoothly. I’ve been working diligently on lesson plans today- the last day of spring vacation week- and I’m excited to put these plans into action.
I’ve been proud of my productivity over spring break. I’ve worked hard in the studio completing a commission piece, nearly finishing an illustration I began in February before getting hired, and passing in my last big assignment for class. I’m feeling organized, fulfilled, tired and happy. I’m looking forward to this weekend so that I can relax with my husband and son at our cottage. Of course, there will be plenty of work to do there, too, but it will be restful to be on the water and working with my hands only. Time for a brain rest!
Work still to be done in the studio is largely around content-building and constructing a social media planner that I can stick to. I’ve been reflective of the amount of content I have thus far and feel I still have many months ahead of me to fill my portfolio. At some point I’ll feel comfortable reaching out to agents and/or publishers, but that point has not arrived. Perhaps by the end of this year I’ll have something compiled and ready to show. I believe that readiness is something that will be felt and will seem obvious.
One thought I had was to keep an eye out for organizations holding conferences, awards, and challenges. Joining these groups is great for visibility and increases my likelihood of individuals or companies hiring me for published works. Also, it helps to give me a goal to work toward and a deadline to complete certain benchmarks. SCBWI, local residencies, talent agencies, Instagram handles, etc. are a good place to start.
