I do a lot of writing, stories remembered about my childhood or loved ones, or something that happened in your day that doesn't seem storyworthy, but ends up being hilarious or very touching as you add details and personal perspectives/reactions. Recent efforts include a memory story of myself childhood self on Christmas, a poem about what I found in my mother's coat pocket after she died, a wild tale about bird mites that invaded my house through the air conditioner or the squirrel that got it's foot stuck in the bird feeder pole, or the drunk turkeys eating fermented apples from my trees in early winter. I write poems or structured pieces that could be silly or serious self reflection, and when I really need to, narratives of personal suffering. I share some of the funnier ones, but most of it is for my eyes only. They vary in length from a few lines to a few pages, whatever moves me that day. The writing is usually on google docs, but I've been keeping a hard copy art/writing journal - highly recommend. You may not think you have artistic or creative talent, but you do. When you see a visual, a photo, piece of art, even a simple line drawing, anything that inspires you, pick up your journal and start sketching. Start simple, have eraser handy!, don't give up!, you can find tutorials for drawing just about anything - I'm into animals and plants right now. Last year I had a phase of black cat and tree silhouettes with moon and stars, very stylized and simplistic. It won't look exactly as you anticipated, but it's rewarding to draw something that actually resembles a magnolia or a monarch butterfly - whatever you're into. Then I like to write some thoughts on the page with the drawing, the source, maybe a poem, maybe some interesting information about the original piece or the history/circumstances of the subject. I will then do the same drawing again on a note card, small scale, I like to use black ink and watercolor paints but even black and white, shading with pencil, or colored pencils works, whatever you have. Write the poem, or narrative on the other side, and send them to someone in the mail, for birthday or thank you or for no reason at all. A random act of kindness for someone who would enjoy some funky snail mail. I love my drawing/writing journal; it's not fancy; it's not "good" but the act of creating a page makes me feel better on days when I feel lousy. It's like therapy. Truly. And I'm a skeptic about most things.

Jump to this post