So, yesterday the boy found out about a security job in Brussels. He didn't know how the salary would work out, after cost of living and taxes, but he sent a resume just in case. The job sounds like it might be more low level than he wants but when the opportunity of a three year contract in Belgium comes up, you have to at least look into it.
Probably nothing would come out of it, but how awesome would that be if it did?
I mean, okay, I'm miserable in Detroit but if our next locale wound up being Brussels, I really wouldn't be able to complain.
So lately I have been missing my animation studies. You know, it's really weird because when I went to school for it, I was utterly miserable. I felt like I was surrounded by sycophants with no sense of originality or creativity, that just wanted to get into it because it was the next big thing. I thought it was sadly Disney-centric when there's such brilliant and inspiring stuff done by the likes of Matt Groening, Tim Burton, Mike Judge, Jhonen Vasquez...the list goes on. I thought that the facilities and faculty were often woefully inadequate.
And yet...
I never felt so inspired.
I have been doing some amazing paintings. I have no doubt about that. But my animation ideas dried up shortly after I dropped out of school. And as much as I hated going to class, I think there was something I got out of it that did wonders for me in the idea realm.
So I'm thinking about going back for it.
I still don't know.
The last thing I really need right now is more options. That's for certain. But, I don't think I want to become an art therapist. It sounds like very rewarding work, however it also sounds like the kind of field where you get a job after college and then stay at the same place until you retire. There isn't much chance to move around. And if I'm going to go to school for six years, I'd like a few options. I would love to study painting, but I'm acutely aware of the impracticality of that. I could just as easily get a show by continuing in my own efforts and becoming a familiar face in the art community as I could by going to school for it. I could possibly study journalism and be quite good at it, although sometimes the media sickens me to the point where I can't even look at a newspaper. There's other areas where I could use a journalism degree (writing for magazines, ad agencies, etcetera) so that's not completely out, and then there's animation.
When I was at Valley, it all seemed pretty pointless. I would sit next to these unimaginative drones, wowing my teacher and the few intelligent kids in the class with my style and creativity, being told that I had exactly what it took to "make it". But then I'd finish my assignments in less than thirty minutes, then writing these scripts for projects outside of class, and I would think "what exactly is the point of this, when I can do it just as easily at home"?
What I think that I missed was that even when the atmosphere of the classroom was lacking, just being in an environment where I was learning animation stimulated my mind, so that I could have those ideas for my outside projects. When I don't have to go to class, and I don't have that pushing me, I start to stagnate.
One advantage of animation would be that I can use it worldwide. From California to Germany to India, there's animation work. I don't know about Italy. Italy has this weird thing about age. A lot of the ads I've seen for animators in Italy specify that you should be under thirty five. I'm not sure I understand that as a requirement, but that could be a real problem with working in Italy. I haven't seen that in other countries though--Ireland, Germany, France--so I could possibly work someplace besides Italy and be close enough to spend the occasional weekend in Rome.
So, it's something I'm thinking about. It doesn't really effect my current decision too much, since I would need to brush up on my studio arts skills before I could get into a program at a decent school. That's the irony of it all. I actually have strong animation skills but very little training in observational drawing. Although I could do quite well in the program I need to prove I can draw in a style that is totally unlike the style that makes professionals think I really have talent.
But if that's what I need to do, so be it. I can take some drawing classes while I go to school and if I still want to in a year or two, I can transfer to someplace like School of Visual Arts (where Voltaire teaches, whee!). Meanwhile, I'm trying to get myself out of this funk, and feeling fun again, so I can get more of these ideas flowing. Where I feel like modeling clay zombies and writing these bizarre scripts and whathaveyou.
Oh, and the boy wants to get me a scooter. Yesterday, after my walk, we were talking for a long time, just about fun stuff. Today, he's been coming up with some exciting ideas. He sent me some links to jobs that I could apply for as well as links for scooters. He suggested that we find a used scooter because it would be much cheaper than a car and I could get around without needing a license. That would give me until about October or November to get my license and a car.
Hmm, that's not such a bad idea. I have actually always wanted a scooter and it would make getting around Dearborn fairly easy. I'm going to go for a walk now. It's kind of chilly out today, and my legs are sore from walking two miles yesterday, but I want to force myself. I don't walk enough.