Life really happens fast.
I’ve had a summer full of adventure and now we’re on the tipping point of fall. The leaves are starting to blush on all the trees up here, sweaters don’t sound so bad, and the amount of vegetables we have been receiving from our CSA share has doubled. Sure signs of the inevitable transition ahead. Winter.
All summer I’ve lamented about finding soul-work. Or rather, finding a position doing things I love. That’s all we want in life right? I appreciate, sincerely, all that is in my world right now. There are innumerable aspects of my jobs that I love and give thanks for just about daily. Flexibility to name one, the friendships to name another. It’s all good. Really. But… I don’t love downhill skiing, and I don’t love catering to strangers with attitude problems. There’s got to be some talent or skill of mine that I haven’t discovered fully, or given credence to. I think I discovered it recently though. Or rather, re-discovered it. Illustrating.
There’s a phrase I tell to friends when they’re complaining about the positions they’re in, be it with work or family. “You gotta get out of the driver’s seat in order for someone else to take over.” I think it applies here. Essentially, if you don’t want to be in the situation you’re in, stop being in it. If you don’t want to be doing something you’re doing, stop doing it. Obviously, it’s not completely black and white as life is complex, but the simple message of this lesson is you’re the captain of your ship. Only you can make those changes for yourself. So, I started drawing more. I started knitting more. I took less days a week at work so I could dedicate more time to roller derby. It’s a slow transition, but the progress can be seen.
I started drawing more this last month. “Why can’t I be a tattoo artist?” I thought. I can. “So what should I do?” Draw more. I talked so some artists I know, and they said, draw. Draw. DRAW. Don’t stop drawing. Keep refining. So, I did. No goal other than change. Change of work venue. Change of schedule. How do I do something else? By not doing what I’ve done before (again and again).
The drawing started as a suggestion from fellow artists, then some friends at K.C. Bonker’s Toys & Coffee started doing this Internet Art Party thing (#internetartparty) where you draw every day for a year and post it online. Even just a quick doodle. Every day. Maybe it’s not even a drawing, maybe it’s another art item, point being, create. I’ve created 12 different doodles since I jumped on board, and I cannot express easily how amazing the feedback has been from those who know me, and those who don’t know me. Requests for commissioned work, logo design, and encouragements to illustrate children’s books. One friend in particular, Keith Glendon, asked the question directly, “Want to illustrate a children’s book?” … and there beings where I’m at now.
My first thought was YES, not even a hesitation. Probably in large part because Keith is an amazing person with heart and diligence, a combination that is hard to defeat. So, I told Keith, YES! We’re now collaborating on a children’s book of poems and prose written by himself and inspired by life, love, wonder, and the joy of learning and growing. His little girls lend to his poetry, and now we two have started a helix of musing one another. He writes, I draw. I draw, he writes. It’s been incredible. I must admit it instills in me a little bit of fear, like what if this fails, or what if people stop feeling enchanted by my drawings, or that I express how happy I am about this project and it’s just another one of those things I talk about but never comes to fruition. At the moment however, I feel like it can’t fail, all the right ingredients are present to make for something incredible, memorable, and adored!
I’m doodling in the morning… piecing together something morsel by morsel with a friend. Our intentions pure. It’s gonna be good. It has to be…right?