My favorite ... in April
The month of April passed by swiftly, sudden spring rain and magnanimous sunshine earmarked tepid, mulch-scented days. Across campus, trees are blossoming, some so vigorously that it looks as if it’s been genetically engineered. Pink petals line everything on my street, it’s Stardew Valley spring on the sidewalks.
Travel
Spring skiing is marked by slush, pipes and roots to jump over, and trail ending in a muddy puddle. To make the most out of (what has already been a very productive) ski season, we took a trip to Vermont and ended up only snowboarding one day because the conditions were so poor. It was a really fun day though, incredibly challenging in a Mario Brothers kind of way, where I was constantly jumping and taking sharp turns to avoid rocks scratching my board. It’s amazing to see how far I’ve come in three seasons – I could’ve never imagined going down these slopes with the same confidence as I did this weekend.
Media
I listened to Wild Geese’s podcast “how to be a better villager”, in which she describes the phenomenon of increasingly commercialized communal spaces and how to regain control in how we show up for each other. It gave me a perspective on something I’ve been struggling with – the sense of unevenness in a lot of my relationships – and a way to reframe it as part of my intentional community building work. I’ve always known that community building is important to me, but I don’t think I’ve ever thought to schedule time in my calendar specifically for work that builds my community. I spend anywhere from 5 to 10 hours a week doing so, but I don’t think I have been able to visibly reflect on that contribution, which I hope going forward I can do so more intentionally, therefore with more generosity.Restaurants
Not much to say in the way of food this month except to prepare yourselves for my Taiwan trip… lots incoming.Hobbies
I bought my first Le Labo perfume (I say first because I know it will not be my last) in Copenhagen last month, and after a 2 week maturation period, it’s finally ready! I’ve been wearing Eucalyptus 21 daily, somewhere between my skin and my clothes, and I’ve grown to love it more and more, especially the dry down after a long day. Crisp, sharp, woody, it feels a bit like a really hard hug. I was in between this one and the classic, Santal 33, which I’ve decided I will ask for the winter :)Finishing up ceramics this semester, I felt exhausted toward the end about making the same things again and again – all we’ve managed to make this semester are jars (all of which I’ve been instructed on before) and a pitcher. While I won’t claim to have mastered these forms, I felt stifled by the expectation of recreating these in class. I become invigorated by other explorations – a series of cups I can make to bring to a friend in Copenhagen, a vase for a friend’s wedding gift, an espresso cup, spoon rests I can give. I felt drawn to create pieces I loved, and I ruthlessly killed over 70% of pieces I threw this year. Ending up with 9 finished pieces at the end of the term, I even feel like it’s 5 too many. I found joy in messing around with watery underglaze, a dance of getting colored water to melt and drip in the directions I like. I scratched up surfaces, deformed them with my hands, built exactly 1 foot ring across all of my pieces, and focused more on my creative intuition. The decisions – underglaze, markings, foot decorations, slips, glazes – come to me almost in a spark of inspiration, and to an outsider it would appear as if I was compelled by a shock into movement. I love the idea that the forms we make can take on traces of the hands that make them – an idea I want to further explore into a portfolio this summer.