🍯 there will be a hundred meals without mustard

I'm finishing my first week as a crossing guard. Here's the fit.

Hey y'all,

Here I am, once again dusting the cobwebs off this once-weekly dispatch.

This time I think I'm back for the long haul because... big news:

I quit my job.

I'll share more about this soon, but to summarize: as much as I truly loved working for NOFA-VT (where I've been the Marketing & Communications Director for the past 2.5 years), I'm feeling called towards illustration, story-telling, and making stuff full-time.

I was able to come to this realization in part because I had the immense fortune of doing a lot of illustration and story-telling at NOFA-VT.

The entire time I've been at NOFA-VT I've also had a lot of freelance work.

Recently I worked on this branding project for City Market, a few animations like this one for Vermont Public, did a residency with Burlington City & Lake Semester, and worked with my Neighborhood Planning Commission thanks to a Burlington City Arts grant.

This year was rich with opportunity and discovery. I feel clearer than I ever have about what I want to do with my precious time on this precious rock, and confident that I can make a humble living doing it. 

More on that soon.

In the meantime, here are some things I've been thinking about:

1. What is making my whole body scream YES YES YES!:   The Third Self: Mary Oliver on Time, Concentration, the Artist’s Task, and the Central Commitment of the Creative Life

One of my personal/creative challenges is that I don't prioritize my work over the many other things I love, or that satisfy me.

Today I want to spend a solid five hours in my studio. I also want to get laundry done, and turn the Napa cabbage I bought on Tuesday into kimchi, and to see a friend. I love a clean home, ensuring my produce doesn't spoil, and a full social calendar. In the past I've tended to these others areas of my life at the expense of my creative work, but now Mary Oliver is calling me the f*ck out on it:

"The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time."

Ouch ouch ouch yes yes yes! I need to let the mustard run out.

2. What I'm laughing at: All I want is a man in a Carhartt vest.

It's cuffing season, and it's true.
 

3. What I'm reading: Luis Vivanco's Samu-Cycle and The Troublesome Intersections

When I told my fellow comic-making transportation nerd friend Luis about becoming a crossing guard, he welcomed me into the Noble and Sovereign Order of the Crosswalk and reminded me that he has this whole comic dedicated to the special role that crossing guards play.

I have so, so much to say about being a crossing guard. More on that soon!

I worked my last day as a Marketing & Communications Director from my friend Reese's perfect living room.

Thanks for reading!

Christine Tyler Hill is the human behind Tender Warrior Co.