Mark Making Part 7: Crayons and Other Nostalgia

So this one was on the principle that if I’m using all my art supplies, the little kid ones count too! I bought these crayons and markers way back when I was first working through The Artists Way. I thought making art with them would be a fun “artist date”. I can confirm, drawing with crayons is a) fun b) satisfying to my “inner child” and c) like sooo easy to relax, because who cares what it looks like, it’s just for enjoying the moment of creating stuff! Little kids get this stuff right off the bat, but we can remember that carefree creativity through some repetitive effort *grin*.

I didn’t scan these, because crayon is kind of messy and I was hoping to avoid getting waxy residue on my scanner’s glass. So here is a quick single picture of the three drawings I created. I used Crayola markers, those Mr. Sketch scented markers^†, and even some Yoobi stamping markers I bought one time from Target on a whim. Most of the Yobbi stamp markers were cut off from the picture on the right, but eeehh. Out of all of the drawings so far from this “making-making” endeavor, these are drawings I don’t really feel like sharing. They seem kind of silly. But! That is the point. Being silly equals unblocking creativity. So like… I’m half-heartedly sharing them in the pic below, but you know what! I say it counts as blogging about it. :p

Today was a sunny day: I was able to take a 30 minute walk around the neighborhood in the morning, which was much needed having only last left the apartment on April 15th^† and 16th^†† and both of those for short errands. The last time I was outside for any length was over two weeks ago on Friday the 10th (to a nearby county part that’s still open and which was luckily very empty – only saw a couple other humans in the distance).

Getting outside was 100% good for my mood. It was so nice today to see a bunch of robins hopping around, an actual cabbage moth fluttering by, some spring flowers, and lots of green grass. I need to get out of this apartment more, even if it’s anxiety inducing. And even if it’s cold and raining, I can take an umbrella! Though going into May, we shouldn’t have too cold of weather for a while in Wisconsin?

Now I’m watching more Sailor Moon (of course). I’m on S1 E35, “Returning Memories: Usagi and Mamoru’s Past” which is an episode I’ve been looking forward to (yay moon princess romance!).

I finished Below the Root today and started reading book 2, And All Between. The copy I have is old and fragile, the paper back cover about ready to come off. Even though it’s the 1992 edition… which means it’s 28 years old, eeep, I feel old. I always really liked the cover of the book – my copy even has some blue oil paint from taking it to an art class in high school and trying to copy the way the artist painted the bark. The cover art is by James C. Christensen^‡. I also just learned today that there was a computer game made from the series in 1984! Sounds cool! I wonder if it’s still available in some form, hmmm. Though, the graphics toe the line of interesting in a nostalgia way and just a little too old school for my tastes. I played King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella in the early 90s as a little kid, but even those graphics look less rough around the edges than Below the Root.

Random note: was so happy to see Critical Role^‡‡ posted a video “Mighty Vibes Vol 1: Lo-fi Beats to Doodle To“. It made me smile, considering that “Lofi hip hop radio – beats to study/relax to” is one of my go-to videos to listen to while I’m working during the day. I should make a round up post some time of my favorite relaxing playlists for working and drawing…

Ah, it’s already past 9pm. Time to get ready for bed and another week of work. But just a little more Sailor Moon!

<3

^†Which, for the record, I think Mr. Sketch markers smell gross and are a migraine trigger for me, soooo… I drew with them really fast. But the pure NOSTALGIA of owning Mr. Sketch markers keeps me from throwing them out. Hey, they don’t take up that much space in my art boxes…so, it’s cool! ^_^;;;

^††To pick up my car at night from the mechanics lot (overdue for an oil change), being able to pay over the phone it was very contactless.

^†††To pick up groceries. *sigh* I know that I am privileged~ to be able to stay home and limit contact, but man, I freakin’ miss people. Coffee shops are like one of my favorite places to go and I miss them so much. I guess I haven’t started dreaming about them yet, like crowds and dance class and the mall (though, I never really went to the mall anymore? But my brain equates shopping with the malls of my teenage years). And last night I dreamt a really pretty green house full of ferns and succulents and other people. *double sigh*

~Okay but, to footnote my footnote, I just want to add that I have been trying to wrap my head around why comparative suffering is not a beneficial way of thinking about yourself (i.e. my pain doesn’t matter because others have it worse.) It rings true to me that comparative suffering is unhealthy and can make a person less empathetic towards others. But at the same time, I try so hard to recognize the privilege I have. How is a balance struck, or is seeing them as a dichotomy a flaw in thinking?

^‡The same James C. Christensen of The Voyage of the Basset, which is a very pretty illustrated fantasy novel. I didn’t realize he also did the cover of And All Between until today! I bought The Voyage of the Basset a couple years ago after hearing how pretty the art work was. I’ve admired the paintings and drawing inside, but have yet to sit down and read it. Maybe I should do that soon…

^‡‡I miss Critical Role sooo much. 🙁 Looked forward to it every Thursday and have caught most of Campaign 2 since it first started airing back in 2018. Still haven’t seen Campaign 1 though (besides a few YouTube clips of the more epic moments), so, maybe now is my chance to get caught up?