“A woman must have money
and a room of her own…”
~Virginia Woolf
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| knickknacks, decor & some teaching awards :D |
I only have one more full day in my office until I
move into the department chair’s space. As part of my negotiations, I requested
to keep my old office so I’ll still be able to visit it although it won’t be
quite the same. I’ll end up moving back here in a year if all goes well.
I love my office but it certainly did not look like
this when I moved into it. It was literally three shades of tan. Apparently the
past painters decided it was simply better to paint around the furniture. Don’t
get me wrong, it is impossible to move my desk but the bookshelves?!? Geez. I
guess they just didn’t want to move books.  |
| Books organized by subject & some decorative little friends. I teach Adolescent Literature and Vampire Literature courses along with a few others on rotation. The Twilight series is part of the former not the latter! |
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| The view is obstructed by building renovation but hey, natural light and a window! |
The summer before last I asked our current chair if
I could paint my office. She said yes as long as I bought the paint. Bad
economy… budget cuts, etc. I figured that since I was buying that I was going
to do it up right. In the store, I *thought* that I selected a nice mauve. You know, not too jazzy but still a bit of pizzazz. However, paint always looks a little different on the walls in
different lighting. To my surprise, it turned out to be Unicorn Princess
Purple!
What goes with Unicorn Princess Purple? Bats!
What goes with Bats? Some Abigail Larson artwork! And
knickknacks!
My door has actually made it quite easy for students to find. On campus, directions to my office include, "Look for the bat!" 
I LOVE IT! Geez, you're really lucky to have such a liberal chair/department. In most art history departments I wouldn't be able to do half the things that you did to your office. Seriously, ART history. JELLY.
ReplyDeleteI did have to ease my way into being 100% me but at this point everyone's pretty cool with it. I'm also in the ENG Department which we like to say is the coolest department on campus ;) We're KNOWN on campus for our Halloween party where faculty and students dress up.
DeleteOur department suite includes a life size Storm Trooper cutout. So technically the directions to my office include building/floor/ "Look for the giant Storm Trooper, turn right and look for the bat!"
Really, we have an ART department and they're pretty wild! I guess the historian part makes for a conservative department?!? I'm puzzled by that.
Aw man! Most art history departments in the schools where I taught are pretty conservative. I think most people assume that the art department will be wild and liberal, but that's usually the fine artists. We're considered the "old guard" in the humanities, some even call art history the "gentry" discipline because we're still equated with connoisseurship and fine arts, which is a "luxury." Some people still treat it that way, some not so much.
DeleteIt's always best to stash the freak flag until you figure out your terrain. I never fly mine 100% and will always hide my tattoos until I know that all's clear. I also never dress OTT, but will stay under the radar in tailored jackets, sweaters, and slacks or skirts. Granted, I'm in black ... but I hardly ever wear anything that would be considered super Goth.
Bat-tastic!!! My office isn't QUITE that gothic, but I do have a nice assortment of skulls and Egyptian gods on my credenza, and there are Grim Reapers and a fabric Hallowe'en pumpkin as well as a vase of black roses. And I go crazy in October with the Hallowe'en decor! But I can see I'm going to have to pull out all the stops to pull even with you. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you can't actually work out of your office once you get chair, it's a lovely space. And I agree with Prof Z, how great that you have been able to decorate it your own way!
ReplyDeleteI have wanted to remake my creative space for quite some time now (it's all white and teal) and seeing your office has given me some inspiration.
Your office is so cool! Nothing wrong with unicorn princess purple!
ReplyDeleteMy office is shared, so I limit my gothyness very much... But I love the wall colour and the bats inside and out!
ReplyDeleteWow, your office is fantastic! Great purple walls, bats, skulls, everything! Maybe I will libve there while you are away!
ReplyDeleteLove your office! The hospital is muy conservative so can't put anything spooky out, just "nice" jack o'lanterns. My house makes up for it. ^_^
ReplyDeleteOh, your office is so cool! <3 I suspect people in my Uni are not allowed to paint their walls or that it has not occurred tot heir minds. Your office is so personal and gorgeous, I would love to attend courses you teach. :D
ReplyDelete