Art

Ever since I was a kid, I have enjoyed art - drawing, sketching, cartooning, painting, etc.

I remember going through phases, where I would obsess on drawing certain things. I went through a "car phase" where I drew monster-looking hotrods like Big Daddy Roth's "Rat Fink" art, which was real popular with young boys in the early '70s. I had a "perspective phase" where I drew long tree-lined streets disappearing into the distance at a vanishing point. I had an "architecture phase" where I drew Monticello, the Capitol building, cathedrals, etc. I even had a "monsters phase" where I would draw various other-worldly creatures like those in Dungeons and Dragons (can you say young geek?).

My attempts at art were mainly centered around pencil sketching as a kid, but I also recall experimenting with painting (watercolor and acrylic) as a young adult. Just before I met Cathy (probably 1988 or 1989), I painted a watercolor of an tropical island at sunset, based on a photo I had taken on a sailing trip to the Bahamas that year. I gave the painting to my Dad as a gift when he was in the hospital for surgery. When he got home, he hung the painting in his bedroom, where it remains to this day. After Dad passed from Lou Gehrig's disease in 1999 , Mom told me how much he had always loved that painting...

Right around the time I met Cathy, I was in an acrylic painting phase, and was cranking out paintings for different folks. I made paintings for Cathy (snowy footprints with "The Road Less Traveled" poem), Cathy's mom (sand castle with some sort of saying or poem), and Cathy's grandmother (snow-covered pine forest)...basically if you were a female related to Cathy, you got a painting, whether or not you really wanted one!

When we got married, the hustle and bustle of raising two boys (church, scouts, sports, etc) really put a damper on the art hobby. I can recall only a few projects over the last 15 years. For one of the boys (Zach?), I painted a cougar mascot for his scout group. For our family, I made a pen-and-ink "Declaration of Dependence" piece that now hangs in our dining room. And for a Michelin art contest, I made a pen-and-ink montage of historical Michelin Man artwork. But other than that, pretty much nada.

I guess there are many reasons I haven't done much artwork over the last several years. First, I really don't think I have a great talent for it. I do OK if I'm copying from a reference photo, but not so hot just drawing whatever I "see in my mind". Second, I have other hobbies that have taken precedence (music, etc). Third, I really haven't seen the value in doing it, unless someone asks me to do something specific.

But recently, this all changed. Last month I read a book called "A Whole New Mind", which ignited in me a desire to reconnect with my "right brain" self, the part of me which is artistic, graphical, etc. It made me realize that I have spent the last 40 years developing the logical, deductive reasoning part of my brain, but much less on the visual, artistic side.

So, what have I done about it?

Well, a few things. First, I went and bought a Moleskine. A Moleskine is a little leather-bound notebook that artsy types use to record their doodles, rough sketches, storyboards, cartoons, whatever. I keep it next to my "easy chair" at home, and try and doodle in it frequently. Some things I have doodled include ideas for blog headers (mine, Cathy's), cartoon characters, custom fonts, logos, and tattoos (Brandon & Megan's).

Second, I have subscribed to three blogs related to art and graphic design. Check them out: xBlog, moleskinerie, and Drawn!. These blogs link to some really awesome websites by artists, graphic designers, cartoonists, animated film makers, Photoshop gurus, etc. I check them daily, and I'm lovin it.

Finally, since I am now getting up and getting to work an hour earlier as part of my New Year's resolution, after my morning devotion I spend 5-10 minutes sketching. That's not much time, but at least it is something. And over the course of the last month or so, I actually completed a pencil sketch (of a pair of day lilies). It's not much in terms of quality, but to me it is significant because it represents my effort to re-connect with the artsy side of myself, which has been mostly dormant for the last 15 years.

Is there a talent that God has given you which you have been neglecting? Why not work at it for 5-10 minutes a day, and see what you can come up with a month from now!

Change

There's a book that's popular in the corporate world called "Who Moved My Cheese?" The story tells about two mice with different attitudes, who react differently when someone moves their cheese to a new location within their maze.

One mouse is set in his ways, used to his daily habit, and inflexible. The other mouse likes a challenge, is optimistic and highly flexible. As expected, the former mouse doesn't even try and go look to see where his cheese has gone, but the latter mouse sets out immediately to find it (and does).

The point of the analogy? Everything changes, and if you get stuck in the past, or even in the present, the world will pass you by. We must be flexible and constantly expecting change.

This is certainly true in the work world. Typewriter salesmen aren't making much money these days due to the the rise of the personal computer. Blockbuster is declining, Netflix is on the rise. AOL was huge in the early 90's, but almost nobody uses AOL anymore. Land-line phones are going away, replaced by cell phones. The world is changing rapidly, and we must be flexible enough to change with it or be left behind...

There's another similar book I've been reading at work which has really fascinated me. The premise of this book goes something like this (hang with me here...).

In the 1800's, the Industrial Revolution gave rise to the "factory worker", who spent long hours doing repetitive blue-collar work making things in factories. The result of this hard labor was a higher standard of living for most folks, who could now buy a variety of well-made stuff much more cheaply (think 1906 Sears catalog).

Over time, America's prosperity brought about new change. After WWII, much of the grueling factory work was sent overseas, to be done more cheaply in Japan. This gave rise to the white-collar "knowledge worker". This worker did well on the SAT test, went to college, studied hard, and landed an office job applying what he had learned as an engineer, lawyer, doctor, etc. The folks that succeeded at this were good at left-brained thinking, i.e. logical reasoning, cause and effect, mathematics, etc. These thinkers further raised the standard of living in America to the incredible level we enjoy today.

This is the America I grew up in. But, the author claims, another big change is just around the bend.

We are already seeing that, like blue-collar work 50 years ago, white-collar jobs are now being sent to low-cost countries like India and China. Many large corporations, like the one I work for, are sending their computer programming work overseas, to be done by well-educated Indian programmers earning less than a tenth of their American counterparts. It will not be enough anymore to be able to think logically and deductively -- there are people in third-world countries now who can do the same for much cheaper. Not to mention computers, which are replacing many repetitive "thinking" jobs.

So what will the successful worker of the 21st century look like?

This author claims that it will be those people who can do what the 3rd world workers and computers can't do: dream, create, and invent. The best jobs of the future will belong to those who have been looked down on during most of our generation: the artists, the musicians, the writers, the creators.

The future belongs to the dreamers, who thanks to technology are no longer limited by thoughts of "but how would I do that?" For example, PC software will make it possible for the least technical of us to create movies, produce music videos, create your own animated cartoons, etc. The technical side will no longer be the problem; we will only be limited by our own imaginations, our own creativity.

Soooo... what is the point of all this?

Well, for me, it has re-awakened in me the importance of creativity, of exercising the right side of my brain. I have decided to take some steps to re-awaken some of the creativity in me, the stuff we all thrived at when we were kids. Last week, I wrote a song (lyrics and music) for my band to play, and hope to continue to improve songwriting. Today at Target I bought a little sketch book, to try and get back into doing some drawing and sketching (which I have really neglected over the past ten years).

And last but not least, I did a little redesign of this blog page (in case you hadn't noticed). The images in the header all represent some of the things that interest me... sort of a visual representation of some of the things that make me...me.

Are you creating? Dreaming? Thinking about what could be? I hope so!