Another year is coming to a close. With the election outcome in November I’m left wishing this year wouldn’t end. The clown show that is already in progress for the next administration, and the havoc and destruction they’re going to wreak is not something I want to navigate. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. Without getting too much in the weeds here, I’ll jump right into it.
On Sculpting
Sculpting has continued dominating my creative life, and at this point it would be accurate to say it is an obsession. I didn’t get through as many sculptures as I’d hoped, but the one’s I did were highly detailed and time consuming. In October, kind of spur of the moment, I decided to take my sculpting up another level and started a small business: Shapeshifter Sculpting.
Shapeshifter Sculpting LLC is live, with an estimated shop opening of late January to mid February. Lest something delay me. I’m currently in the process of molding my Biomechanical, and hope to cast it within the next week. We shall see. I’m a bit nervous about the molds. I feel like I have one shot at it, and if it goes south, so does the sculpture. I’ll be molding and casting my Zombie as well. Which, mentioning zombie, I still need to post about him here on Uhmm. Beside jumping into a small side business, and everything I have to learn along with it (molding, casting, airbrush painting, latex mask creation and painting, etc), I’m working on getting my sculpting speed up. I cannot spend four months on each sculpt. That’s insane.
I was able to get my shop up and running as of last week. This required a considerable amount of work emptying the garage of all the unwanted shit the household no longer wanted. Yes, it was the dumping ground for anything that couldn’t fit in the garbage can. Then there was weather proofing. This last piece was installed a week ago, and the garage has been a stable 70 degrees ever since. It’s very pleasant. Now I wait to see what it does to the electric bill. Fingers crossed it lives up to the energy efficiency it is touted to have.
While my shop isn’t up I’ve already had some interest in what I’m doing, with some tentative projects coming up this year. I have a couple of locations I’ve been told are willing to showcase my work as well. My intent is to also get a table at the library comic con this year. This will be my first event showing so I ought to learn something from that.
Regarding events: Erin and I will be attending Monsterpalooza in May. I cannot wait! This will be a learning experience as well as simple, unadulterated fun.
On Writing
I did more writing than I expected this year. This is partially due to now having a blog at Shapeshifter Sculpting. It’s beneficial to write for the site, so I’ve currently knocked out four posts, three which are live. I have also met my minimum post amount for Uhmm, with this post. 12 posts insofar for the year. I do hope to get out one more music post, and a post covering the zombie, prior to New Years Eve. That would put me two up on last year. A minor improvement, but an improvement none-the-less.
One writing milestone: I finished the Ghost series. It’s likely only interesting to me, and possibly not a great read, but I’m glad it is done. The last stretch languished a long time. I’m glad to close the book on it.
I hope to once again hit my 12 post minimum for the coming year here at Uhmm, along with a weekly post at Shapeshifter Sculpting. That is a tall order, but I’ll try.
On Music
I clocked a massive amount of listening hours on Spotify this year, with over 76,000 minutes listened to. I landed in the top 2% worldwide. There were a ton of new bands throughout the year. One thing I enjoyed music-wise this year were my Saturday listening sessions with Erin. About once a month we’d spend a few hours trading Spotify back and forth, launching songs for one another. We kept track of our selections on a “Saturdaze” playlist. This playlist has provided hours upon hours of listening enjoyment. And it continues to grow.
One other musical surprise this year: a new release from The Cure! “Songs of a Lost World” came out this fall, and landed with a bang. A great album. Greater still was the news that a follow up has already been recorded and will be released in 2025. So there is something to look forward to. Robert Smith has said there is a 3rd album as well, should he live long enough.
The Election
Not much to say. The outcome is a disaster for the country. If it is actually true, then about half of the voting public thinks a Christian-nationalist dictatorship is what is needed for America. The icing on the cake: run by a bunch of inexperienced, unqualified buffoons, rapists, drunks, and psychopaths. And one billionaire traitor.
I’ve unplugged from all news since the day after the election, knowing I cannot stomach the daily onslaught of shit that is being flung. It was too much last time and I cannot do it again. It makes a difference to my mental health. My energies are being put into as much as I can find that is positive: my family, Shapeshifter Sculpting, friendships. I have no proper words for the failings of our electorate. And I can’t say 100% that I believe the results were not manipulated by power/money hungry billionaires and despots. I only hope we survive as a country for the next four years and can then somehow clean up the mess. A good portion of the Democratic party should go with the shoveling out and repairs. The government is being run by a bunch of ancient baby boomer relics and it reflects on this nation. It’s long past time to move beyond that generation. It’s sickening. End rant.
The Weather
It was fucking hot this year. And it is still unnaturally warm. It is December 19th as of this writing and it’s 49 degrees out. Yesterday was over 50. There looks to be no end in sight for these temps. This past summer was unbearable, capped off with fires all over the PNW that filled the valley for weeks with thick, acrid, smoke. The fire season closed with the foothills inflames, and half the skyline burned black.
Doesn’t bode well for the coming year. It has gotten to the point where there are only a handful of pleasant weather days throughout the year. I look forward to one day moving somewhere else.
Mental Health
I feel I have continued to grow and develop, in a healthy way, as a person, as a husband, and as a step-father. I began taking antidepressants this year and along with the counseling I’ve been doing, feel as if my life transformed. It appears relatively the same, but the clouds lifted. Clouds I’ve lived with for a lifetime. That’s all I’ll say about this.
Life in General
It was a good year overall. One highlight: the family and I took a trip to Maui in the spring. I had never been off the continent before and enjoyed this trip immensely. I did not want to return and could easily live there the rest of my life. We had the perfect weather the whole time we were there, and went at a perfect time as the crowds were minimal. Really, we couldn’t have asked for a better set of circumstances. If you want to live vicariously, you can read my notes here.
Juniper enrolled at her high school, getting the thumbs up on skipping her freshman year. This required her to take a massive load of classes during the summer. It essentially wiped out her summer, but that was the trade off, and she agreed to it prior to starting. She navigated the class load like a champ and came out the other side having aced it all.
Work was work. What more can you say? It’s a cycle of ups and downs. Incredibly busy in the beginning of the year and slower toward the end. No one knows what to think regarding the coming year and the new administration. With everything I’ve heard it doesn’t bode well (half of America does not seem to understand how tariffs work), but I guess it depends on what news organization you’re paying attention to. Me? I’ve unplugged since November 5th, as I cannot stomach anymore of the train wreck. But, things still bubble through. I expect I’ll remain disconnected until at least the next presidential election. But I’ve said things like this before.
My hope for the coming year is, first and foremost, good health for us all. I hope to continue writing here, and over at Shapeshifter and somehow manage to hit my writing goals for both. I look forward to continuing to work on Shapeshifter Sculpting as a company, but also all of the aspects that come with it: sculpting, painting, mold making, making my first latex masks, learning the airbrush, and hopefully making my first sales to others than family and friends. Those are important but I think real validation will come when a stranger purchases a sculpt from me.
I look forward to the continued growth of Erin and myself, as well as Juniper. Juniper is fast closing in on Senior year. It will be here before we know it. Hell, she’ll be getting her license this year. We will be cherishing and trying to make the most of our time with her before she leaves the nest.
So here’s to 2025. May we survive it politically, may we grow as a family and individually.
Author: Jason Jacobs
Jason Jacobs is an artist, project manager, and frontend web designer living and working in Boise, Idaho. Beyond work he spends his time with family, as well as reading, writing articles for Uhmm, and working on his art. All words and opinions, etc., are his and do not reflect the positions or beliefs of anyone other than himself.