005: Drawing + Writing
On Lynda Barry and my love of comics.
Part I: Creative Artifacts
I've always enjoyed drawing.
This is me, sometime in the ~mid 1990s.
My thoughts today :
- That was a fresh turtleneck
- I wonder what I was drawing...
Recently, my grandmother found some other pieces I'd given her a while back.
I scanned them in (+ some minor digital editing) last week 👇
This was clearly part of my knights phase:
I was fairly obsessed with dragons, armor, castles with drawbridges and portculli etc.
Look at the pecs on this surfer guy.
Wow...
Stoked, dude 🏄
I was always a big Greek myths fan too.
This appears to be part of a Trojan war scene.
I'm digging the psychedelic, geometric style.
💡
To ponder :
When you find old creative artifacts from your own childhood, can you teleport back to those earlier moments in time? Do you remember what it felt like to make that thing?
Part II: Drawing and Writing
tl;dr I loved Lynda Barry's book "Making Comics".
I found it insightful and very inspiring. I think it's largely relevant, even if you don't consider yourself an artist. In fact, I think it can be useful to basically everyone.
Some of her key insights:
- Drawing and thinking are deeply connected
- Drawing comes from the physical body
- You don't simply reflect the world with your hand - your lines tell you how you actually see and think
As Barry explains :
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."
Barry has often spoken about her experience teaching art to students of different ages. Her grad-school students? Largely anxious, self-conscious, and stressed out.
Her pre-schoolers?
Creative, experimental and wildly enthusiastic.
My takeaway:
It's great to remember the wisdom we all had as kids.
Update
I made a free drawing series!
Check it out 👇
Related : Jeremy Finch
Jeremy Finch
Jeremy Finch
Jeremy Finch
I'm a huge fan of @NearSitedMonkey's "Making Comics".
Some her of her key insights:
- Drawing + thinking are connected
- Drawing comes from the body
- Drawing can tell you useful information about how you think and interpret the world (and yourself)
Comics are for everyone! pic.twitter.com/9GGkEUIwtb