Category: General

the general everyday blog entries

Reassessing where I’m headed

Jonathan was right. Jonathan, was my MA Fine Art teacher FYI, and also the best human being I’ve ever known. He was right when, during one of my MA tutorials he said when people reach their goals, it isn’t as gratifying as one would imagine. Why not? I thought then, I’d give anything to see some of my ambitions realized. His reasoning was that the end of a goal always leaves one wondering what one ought to do next. He gave the example of a successful artist he had once interviewed, who, after a particularly successful conceptual piece, felt at …

My continuing journey as a writer…

When I was 12, I thought I was a writer. I had such confidence in my little self that would lie on the cold ridged floor of our spare room holding an all-in-one giant version of Lord of the Rings. I even made a little notebook and wrote a whole manuscript, and then dumped it later when I first met the critic inside me (something every writer/artist learns is an invariable part of themselves). At 20, this resolve wavered. There had been so much to study over the last few years and anyway, how did one get an agent or …

The MA Fine Art chapter comes to an end

Have you ever seen those moments in movies, so unreal yet so desirable, that you feel a slight hitch in your throat from longing while knowing they’ll never actually happen to you? I had such a moment. It started badly. First, I burnt my new tang-colored blazer with the Air Bnb iron. Then the babysitter arrived late, which meant I spent some extra anxious minutes wondering if she’d be the murderous, lecherous, baby-sitter that horror movies assure us are the only kind available. And then our Uber driver took his time winding the car along the Battersea roads while we …

The Untold Edition returns

In 2019 when I walked away from UAL for the last time, I felt a sense of completion. My thesis project was done, it felt amazing to receive recognition for it, and it had culminated in the most incredible tour of Karachi. What more could I want? The Untold Edition seemed to be reaching its natural conclusion. But, this year, it occurred to me that community collaborations don’t end. They’re seeds you plant that grow into intertwined, unexpected, vines. And then, in a very organic way, they continue to seed new ideas and new growth. I may have felt content …

It’s not your fault, mom

Yesterday I was racked with guilt. Yesterday, my son woke up from his nap before I had a chance to pick my daughter up from school. Since time was short, I trundled him into the car with me. Of course, the short trip turned into the stuff nightmares are made of. The kids bickered and kicked and cried. They fought over the cupcake my daughter had made in school and didn’t want to share. They took everything out of her school bag and threw it around in the taxi. By the time we reached our apartment building, I was a …