I believe that still life can be self portrait

Over the summer of 2016 I attended the NAEA School for Art Leaders.  This program was life altering in so many ways and is now coming to a close.  My "capstone" is written and all that remains is the creation of my "yearbook" slide - including an artistic self portrait representing who we are as leaders.  Oh, and of course, the actual LEADING is still to come!  

I decided to explore the idea of a still life as a self portrait once again.  This is how I viewed all the birds and rabbits that I painted a few years back and I wanted to explore this idea further.  The painting I am working on includes three objects; a rock, a tiny, empty terracotta pot, and my giant, red, hand-made sketchbook that was my bible for the program.  The objects symbolically and realistically represent me as a leader - at least in my head!  

Here's where things stand as of day 1.  I'm hopeful for the results, but mostly I'm happy to be painting again.