Inspired Lessons 1: Drawing Lab - Get a Stack of Books

Happy 4th of July! On this Independence Day, I celebrate my decision to carve out an independent, creative career path for myself. I am still struggling with determining how I will allocate my time and energy to my new set of priorities. This process involves negotiating my immediate financial needs, my commitment to inspired living, and my long-term career goals. I come into this new freelance existence with: (1) a set of skills I've already developed and may apply to projects and jobs now, (2) identified areas for growth in my current skills, and (3) a wish list of new skills I will need in order to realize my dream of being a creative entrepreneur.

As true independence and inspiration cannot be achieved alone, I will need to draw upon the wisdom of others. And because I am a total nerd and need the structure and expectations that come with taking classes, I am putting together a curriculum for myself. (A post with all the details regarding my DIY continuing education program to come soon.) I will look to a variety of sources and instructors, but as I am a serious book lover, you can expect books to play a prominent role in my course of study. I am very excited to begin delving into many wonderful titles that I will use to spark my creativity, and I'd like to share the results of my first assignment, which I found in the following book:

Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun! (Lab Series)
by Carla Sonheim
Paperback, 144 pages
Published July 1st 2010 by Quarry Books
Lab 46: Get a Stack of Books


Newly rebellious and untraditional student that I am, I have decided not to read the book from cover to cover. My strategy was to skim through the entire book and flag exercises that appeal to me. I do intend to complete all or most of the exercises eventually, but I began with an irresistible activity that combines my two great passions: drawing and a visit to the library!

Instructions in a Nutshell: Bring a sketchbook or 5-10 index cards and a pen to your local library. Gather a stack of books that appeal to you visually, and then sit down and flip through each book, sketching anything you like. Pay no attention to composition or accuracy. Items may overlap and mistakes should be overlooked. This is basically a practice drawing session.

Armed with this fun and non-threatening exercise at which I simply could not fail, I happily headed out to the Westminster Library and grabbed a pile of books on birds, orchids, toys, and other subjects I can't recall anymore. I tried to find an isolated seat far from other library patrons, but it's a rather small library, so I had to share a large table with several guys on their laptops and a girl deeply focused on her studies. Here are my drawings from June 26, 2011:

I hadn't drawn anything in so long that I began rather self-consciously with very light and hesitant pen strokes. However, I soon began to enjoy myself and no longer cared whether anyone around me noticed what I was doing. With the birds, I felt such a refreshing sense of freedom to overlap different species and not try to perfect anything. I set myself the goal of simply capturing a very quick likeness of each bird that caught my eye, and moving on when I lost interest. My drawing of the Asian girl didn't come out quite as I would have liked, because I was so worried about being discreet, that the perspective was all off. I was so afraid she'd turn around and see me drawing her that I over-thought that sketch. But it was great practice drawing people again, which is something I used to love doing, so I'm happy.

I enjoyed this exercise and am looking forward to exploring the other exercises in the book. I love that the approach to drawing is fun and playful, which is perfect for someone like me who lacks confidence in her own drawing skills. All too often, I am paralyzed by a blank sheet of paper or canvas. Drawing, painting or writing usually seems like a task too big and too fraught with expectation for me to handle. But if I take it one small step at a time, using books like Drawing Lab that make creative activities seem accessible, then I will eventually gain the confidence and ease to begin projects that I imagine for myself.