The Summer of my junior year in high school, I was blessed with the privilege of taking a school sponsored trip through Europe. Today, my mother sent in the post this journal that I kept. I had no recollection of doing so! Silly sketches that I had done on site, Buckingham Palace, Notre Dame, The Hay Market in Florence... I cant wait to read it! I am surprised at how much I wrote! Just reading the first few passages brought so many details to life again after having slept for over thirty years! It brought to mind the importance of our keeping journals & sketchbooks, not only as chronicles of our lives, but source materials and measures of how far we've come as artists.
I've also taken to heart the advice from all that I have interviewed, follow on twitter & Facebook & bloger, and that is to always Have a sketchbook handy. And through this I've come to terms with the Day job. Everyone out there who, because of the structure of this world, find them selves tied to the Life wasting grind stone. Paying mortgages and bills but not feeling uplifted or inspired, Listen... Every moment of your life is a moment spent. You wont ever get it back, so spend it well. I'll spend two or three hours watering trees & plants & pots, stocking shelves and taking inventories. I'll be interrupted continuously in the process by customers needs and wants. I'll spend four hours on a forklift loading stone or soil or mulch. If I forget what these moments mean, What they cost, I run the risk of wasting those moments. So creatively speaking, I use this time to take a journey through the worlds I'm trying to invent. I give birth to scenes and plot elements, I flesh out the characters, give them form, substance, and a face. I have eureka moments where I have to stop and make a sketch or jot down a few notes. When I think I just can't take it anymore, I remember that I am the master of my attitude. If I think negatively Thats exactly what my day will be. Negative. And it is sometimes, but really its my fault for not thinking clearly, positively. So I will not give up, I will not give in.
And one day the world will come to know just how worlds are formed. In those moments of time we could otherwise waste as failure fodder.
Keep it real, Keep it alive, and KEEP A SKETCH BOOK!
and in the mean time... Keep the day job.
What beautiful sentiments, Sam. We are truly the one only ones responsible for where we are now, or where we aren't. Most of us live unconsciously, so taking a few minutes to step into your aliveness, your awareness, and document it in a sketch book is a true way of staying present, unless your mind wanders as you draw;) Gorgeous sketches- your talent back then was evident! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for showing what can be accomplished while suffering at the grindstone while still completing your dreams. You are an inspiration to me.
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