Print planning: My Circus, My Pony

Today I am designing my next print for printmaking class--tomorrow we start carving linoleum in "jigsaw" style for printing blocks of color. (I have no idea.)

Thinking about a favorite saying, Not my circus, not my monkeys--(but I always say "pony" instead of "monkeys")---I want to do a circus pony, and maybe a bear too.
I went looking for circus art for inspiration--I was thinking of the bold Polish CYRK poster art I've always loved.

This Soviet one is more printerly...

A student in the printmaking class recommended German printmaker Daniel Hopfer (1471–1536)--this is his etching "Three German Soldiers". At the MMA.
Does it inspire or dismay to see excellence?

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Speaking of excellence--I might get a TV so I can watch the Olympics. The reminder that we humans work hard to excel at unnecessary things always cheers me up.

Maybe I should get Internet at home finally--now I can afford it.
I've always lived where I could use the house Internet. Living alone for these two years, I've created a hot spot with my iPhone--free, and fine for blogging and browsing on my laptop--but the speed isn't sufficient to stream media.
With Internet, I could watch things like the Criterion movie channel this fall, when I go back to work.

I guess it's obvious... but it just occurred to me that the reason it's so nice to have this summer off--it has surprised me, how nice it is--is because I know I have a job to return to. Sometimes I wake up feeling anxious and then remember--it's okay--you have a job!
Usually when I've had a long stretch of time off, I've been unemployed, so there was always an undercurrent of worry.

I have five more weeks free. Five!
I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing. Printmaking class for three more weeks (yay!)--and then on my own;
working on making/eating/drawing nice food;
writing up Criterion movies and my favorite books of this century so far;
Wednesdays at the thrift store.

Seeing people...
One friend will be in town this week--we studied Classics in college together. (She teaches high-school Latin in Virginia.)
Another is leaving town––moving back home to Maine. We worked together at the art-college library 20+ years ago. I'll see her for the last time this Saturday,  meeting at the art museum next to our old workplace.  We don't see each other often, but it's weird she won't be here anymore.
It's being nice to reconnect with a couple people--KG in printmaking class, MT who makes dolls––while other friendships have kind of pulled apart.
So it goes.