005: Drawing + Writing

Pilot Eps Jan 27, 2020

This has two parts:

Some recently-unearthed artifacts
An excerpt from Lynda Barry's book "Making Comics"

Part I: Creative Artifacts

I've always enjoyed drawing.

Exhibit A: Mid-late 1990s. Kitchen table.

My thoughts today:

Look how happy this guy is!
I wonder what I was making there...

My grandmother found some other pieces I'd given her a while back. I scanned them in this week (w/ minor editing) below.

Exhibit B: Jousting

drawing of a jousting knight on horseback — 1996

This appears to be part of my late knights phase: Weapons, armor, castles with drawbridges, shark moats and portculli. Myths and medieval dragons etc.

Exhibit C: Extreme sports

Look at his pecs (wow). Stoked, dude 🏄

Exhibit D: Greek myths

drawing of a trojan horse being pulled towards a castle — 1997?

I don't recall this Trojan Horse.
But can really appreciate the action and sense of story.

Note:

I'd eventually like to do a Greek myths episode 💡

Q: When you see artifacts from your childhood, can you teleport back to those moments in time? Do you remember what you were thinking/feeling then?

Part II: Drawing and Writing

My call-to-action (I've clearly buried the lede): You should read Lynda Barry's book "Making Comics". It is excellent.

Some of her insights:

Drawing and thinking are connected
Drawing comes from the body
You don't simply reflect the world with your hand - drawing tells you how you see and think

As Barry puts it in the intro:

There was a time when drawing and writing were not separated for you. In fact, our ability to write could only come from our willingness and inclination to draw. In the beginning of our writing and reading lives, we drew the letters of our name. The motions each requires hadn't become automatic yet. There was a lot of variability of shape, order and orientation. The letters were characters, and when certain characters got together in a certain order, they spelled your name."

She speaks often about teaching art to students of different ages. Her grad students? Anxious, self-conscious and miserable. Her pre-schoolers? Creative, experimental and wildly enthusiastic.

It's great to remember the wisdom we all had as kids.

Update:
I made an interactive drawing series! 👇