JOURNALS

Monday rolled around with its usual blend of promise and to-do lists as long as my arm. In the morning, fuelled by enthusiasm (and definitely not coffee or tea - those are not my cup of, well, anything), I set my sights on attacking the day head-on. First up on the agenda was tackling an automation task involving Kitty’s address output for a birthday card - specifically for Kim, whose birthday is looming on the horizon like a friendly but increasingly urgent reminder of our relentless march through time.

I dove into the coding session, reminiscing about a similar endeavour for a previous project involving postcards. The thought process was straightforward - "Just drop that code in, and voila!" Reality, as it often does, decided to add its own twists, but determined not to be bogged down, I moved forward. The goal was to have everything plotted, packed, and posted today. Efficiency might not be my middle name, but today, it felt close.

With the birthday card plotted (thanks to my trusty pen plotter, not a paintbrush in sight) and enveloped, my thoughts meandered towards the next task - the Cricut Maker. Transitioning from coding to crafting felt seamless, almost leisurely. I’ve been looking forward to this blend of work and play, tinkering with the machine and coaxing it to accept my SVG outputs. It's like coaxing a cat to perform tricks - challenging but oddly satisfying when successful. Yes, the machine leans more towards its primary function of cutting, treating drawing like a distant relative it tolerates during holidays, but we reached an understanding.

Amid the productive storm, I ventured home for a bit of afternoon culinary creativity, swapping codes and plots for pots and pans. Sometimes, stepping away from the studio for domestic tasks feels like an unexpected bridge between two worlds, both requiring a kind of creativity and problem-solving that’s strangely complementary.

The cherry on top? News of Bantam Tools’ NextDraw machine tickled my interest, dangling the promise of new creative experiments once the studio sale finally wraps up. The thought lingered, a hopeful note amid the practical day-to-day.

Reflecting on the day, it strikes me how these seemingly disjointed tasks all weave into the broader tapestry of my creative practice. Coding, plotting, cooking - each fundamentally different but connected by the underlying threads of creativity, learning, and problem-solving. And in that, I find a kind of harmony that makes even the Mondays bearable - no analogies needed, just the simple truth of a day well-spent.