Born and raised in a small prairie town in Saskatchewan, Canada, I have made Barcelona, Spain my home for almost 14 years: In 2007, I began teaching a variety of classes (scrapbooking, mixed media, collage, altered art…), and introducing local participants to techniques and products that were not well-known locally at that time. A television interview in 2008 helped promote my work.
In March 2009, I created my own studio space. That same month, I organized our first workshop event with a guest artist from the US. In addition to my own classes and workshops, I have continued to bring in guest artists from outside Spain. Parallel to the creativity side-of-things, I also organize workshops in “The Work of Byron Katie” (http://www.thework.com/ ), in the area of personal development.
My own projects and interests swing back and forth between book arts, art journaling, collage, mixed media, and altered art. I do local commissioned work as gifts (weddings, anniversaries, baptisms, memory albums, etc). In March of this year, I was selected to participate in Ranger Industries’ “Ranger U” Certified Educator program. This past month, my work as a book artist appeared in the itinerant exhibition, “Festival Human Book”, held in Barcelona and Brugherio (Milan).
In addition to what I am working on in the studio, organizing upcoming workshops, and “things on the home front”, a substantial slice of my time also goes--in the form of parental participation--to the “home-education co-op” that our family has been a part of since 2008.
A Day in the Life of Lisa……
note: dominant sound of singing birds in background (Spaniards love canaries)
6.30 am: husband’s alarm goes off. He’s up and leaves by 7ish.
6.58 am: I mutter something vaguely resembling “bye, sweetie, have a good day” to my husband as he leans down to kiss me goodbye.
8.23 am: my eyes are opened. I don’t know how it happens, but so far, it’s happened every morning for as long as I can remember, and I’m grateful.
8.24 am: I roll over on my side to contemplate our daughter, sleeping beside me. I think about how I’m grateful for her too.
8.32 am: brushing my teeth, I flip on my computer
8.37 am: I’m opening my email…
8.38 to 10.18 am: (note: the following can appear in virtually any order) I shower (this is when I usually get all my “lightbulb” ideas), get dressed, prepare a yoghurt fruit smoothie for me and my daughter, make herbal tea, prepare something to eat, (around 9.30 or 10ish:) our daughter wakes, I go greet her, we hug and chat about the coming day’s plan, she requests breakfast, requests I put on something for her to watch while she eats, I get her clothes (this usually requires 3 trips cuz she never likes what I pick out the first and second time…) and help her get dressed, I eat (after reheating my tea in the microwave cuz it’s cold by now),
10.30 am - eventually we are both done and I take her to her “the project”; our home schooling families’ co-op…(if she wakes up earlier, I take her earlier ;)
10.35 – we arrive, she runs off to play, I greet everyone, we share any info needed with the other parents and our “educadora”…
11.00 am approx. – I head home.
(NB: once a week, I am the “parent helper” at our project. On those days, I go with my daughter and stay until the session ends, at 2.30pm. Those mornings before we leave, I prepare a lunch meal, vegetarian, to take with us to feed the number of children and adults present during that particular session. In addition, parents are invited to prepare an optional “workshop” for the kids--a craft, cooking, artwork, music/movement, an experiment, collaborative project, invited guest, etc., if we are able.
11.10 am – run any errands or get groceries, etc when needed, otherwise I’m back at home, on my computer, responding to email, checking up on workshop-related info, networking, etc.
12ish – walk down the block to my studio to work…
2.30 pm – time to go pick up the Mermaid!
3ish pm – arrive home, prepare her a snack and/or eat my lunch (if I haven’t already), chat, see if she’s interesting in doing anything in particular that afternoon
(NB: for the past 3 years, we have an aupair living as part of our family during the regular “academic year”. Most afternoons, she spends time with our daughter so that I am able to return to the studio if I have classes or work on projects, or do computer work at home, attend meetings, etc.
6ish pm – snack break…If I am at home, I enjoy contemplating the swallows above the rooftops in our neighbourhood at dusk, and listen to them “squeal and shreak” as they race by our terrace.
8ish pm – I return home, supper is discussed, our daughter eats if she is hungry, if not she waits for her Dad to get home.
8.30ish pm – my husband arrives home from work. “Somebody” gets our supper (the odd time, the aupair…occasionally my husband …usually me)
9.00 – 10.00 pm – “normal supper hour” in Spain
10.00-10.30 pm – somebody takes care of kitchen clean-up (I try to avoid it!) and Dad and the Mermaid hang out.
10.30pm – Dad gets ready for bed. He and the Mermaid read or make up stories in bed.
11pm – Dad is usually asleep. The Mermaid, if not yet asleep, wants me to come and lay down with her, which I do.
11.23pm – I either have fallen asleep myself, or have remained awake so that I can get up again for some “quiet time” on the computer—I check out blog posts, email contacts, Facebook, etc.
If I am mulling on a new project or class I may be researching information, or just simply getting inspiration from what everyone else is doing out there! The rare day, I’ll watch a bit of something on tv (lately, “The Wire”), but for the most part, I’m on the computer.
…12.30am – I may still be up, depending. As a night person (ie. I feel more creative at night), if I am percolating something, I may be inspired to stay up until I’m ready to pack it in. I did have a spell a few months back where I was up until 2 or 2.30 each night, but lately I can’t be bothered to stay up, so I’m in bed earlier…As you can see, in Spain, “to bed early” is a culturally-relative concept!
(note: dominant echo of televisions in the background, usually soccer…Spaniards love their late-night tv!)
12.31am – ¡Buenas noches! Hasta mañana!
Lisa’s blog: http://lisaemitchell.typepad.com/
Her Spanish blog: http://lisaemitchell.typepad.com/version_original/
Lisa on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=593546240
Lisa on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12480280@N08/sets/
Thanks Lisa for sharing your day with our readers.
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If you would like to share A Day in the Life of yourself or recommend someone, please contact Debbie at debbie@debbieoverton.com
