And so begins the ritual of weekly blogging: from project ideation to rapid prototyping and wellness reflections.
At the start of my MFA at UC Santa Cruz, I began documenting my academic adventures on @the#. Although it was intended as a blog for my MFA, I’ve decided to maintain my weekly practice of experimentation and creative development. It makes perfect sense to pick back up with the transition into fall (my academic senses must be tingling!) Even though at times it felt like a chore, this blog kept me sane during my MFA. Overall, It’s been an incredibly help way for me to reflect and iterate on my own process. Quick shout out to my advisors and mentors who encouraged me to keep it going even when things felt unbearably chaotic!
Part of this blog includes a weekly tarot reading, which spurred out of my research on play, ritual and divination. Rather than do my traditional spreads on PAST / PRESENT / FUTURE, I’m going to shift gears and focus in on more active, process-oriented readings. As we transition out of summer and things kick into high gear, I need to maintain steady mindful action. It’s application season after all! I’m hoping to tour my thesis, exhibit new work, teach more workshops, and create more teaching resources over at MIR. So it’s all hands on deck over here at the Zoe Sandoval studio extraordinare (l0l). But seriously: steady, focused action. That’s the intention for this week.
SITUATION, ACTION, OUTCOME
Reflecting on change and new creative horizons.
Situation: Two of wands, Blue (Steady)
How serendipitous! Today at yoga we were asked to set our intention for the class, and I decided to build on what I thought of earlier in the week: steady action. Steady focused action. And now this card is titled steady - so lovely and reassuring. The purpose of this reading was to gain insight on the flow of change that’s been happening with the end of summer, both celestially, and in my own life and creative practice. The two of wands indicates balance and creativity, and its association with blue refers to communication. Recently, I’ve restarted posting and sharing my work on social media and have been collaborating with M to produce and share educational materials with the creative coding community. There’s been a steady generation of content, and now we’re looking at a plan to maintain this work both logistically and financially, and it’s had me thinking a lot about the future, career-wise. Looking more into the meaning of the two of wands, shows that it follows the ace of wands from phases of discovery to action and planning. Coming out of my MFA, this resonates with me A LOT! During my grad program, I had (what felt like) endless time to research, experiment, teach, and make things. Planning was difficult in the middle of all that, but I’m starting to feel re-grounded in looking at the future and making some meaningful steps forward.
action: 21 the Universe, purple (Divine light)
Jeez, what a card. How does one put the universe in action? I can has the universe? Brushing off some of these daunting thoughts, the universe card is signaling fruition and sort of cyclical fulfillment. Part of the order I am trying to manifest post-graduation involves a connection to the greater new media arts community (whether that be through sharing resources, applying for exhibition and showing work). Maintaining the balance of all these tasks is difficult to say the least, but I’m realizing the only way to manifest it is my staying active and consistent with my work. This card is also telling me that there a few loose-ends I need to resolve (pending applications, etc.) in order to achieve my future-goals. I should feel confident about my ability and practice and just do. easier said than done of course…
outcome: two of cups, orange (joining)
It’s interesting that the number 2 has appeared again in this reading. My spread is flanked by golden, balanced energy which feels pretty good. The word joining definitely connotes an emotional, almost romantic energy. I think I know what that might be indicating (going to keep internalizing for now), but it’s definitely interesting to see it here in my reading about future-goals and career aspirations. Looking at this card from a different perspective, it seems as though future business endeavors will be a result of exciting partnerships, relationships and connections. I think there’s still more to do here in order to attain the complex interweaving I imagine, but that’s expected. I’ve never quite taken the conventional route, and I think that’s actually produced the most exciting adventures in my life. I need to lean into this process and reap the fruits of my labor. Now! back to making and doing and all that magic.
This week I ordered a sweet lightbox that I’m going to use to document the love letters from my thesis installation. Admittedly I need to do an additional resin pass to fully coat and preserve these remnants, but thankfully they’ve maintained themselves through the summer.
vaporwave
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
2087
ellievsbear
izzy806
theartofmadeline
kianamaiart
