Seven Impossible Things

Illustration by David A. Johnson, posted via Seven Impossible Things*

Ever since I was fairly young, I always liked "doodling," creating little characters in the margins of my school papers and imagining lives for them. I continued as I got older but thought I should draw differently, would need to draw more "seriously" in order to think of it as something I could really do. 

It sort of fell by the wayside.

Then I found the Missed Connections series by Sophie Blackall and in her illustrations, the wonder and curiosity I'd felt in drawing my own characters all those years ago. There's something about creating this little person, deciding what sort of nose they have, how they'd wear their hair, giving them an expression and something to do. In a way, they create themselves, begin their own activities. You are just watching to see what they do.

I am not sure why I thought this was something I should grow out of because there is a world of real live grown-ups who make their living as illustrators. Knowing this makes me happy.

On nights when I am not making jewelry and things, I think I should get out my sketchbook and some watercolors and see who shows up.

Things I love don't have to fall by the wayside. Everything I do doesn't have to be for sale or for some specific purpose.


*Btw, I love that the blog is named for this exchange in Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (one of my favorites):

"I'm just one hundred and one, five months and a day."

"I can't believe that!" said Alice.

"Can't you?" the Queen said in a pitying tone. "Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes."

Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said: "one can't believe impossible things."

"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

 The blog is Seven Impossible Things because, "Why stop at six?"