I’ve been thinking about how reading books is similar to playing dominos or sharing a meal with friends. In all of these activities we practice cooperating with others and peaceably bringing forth the world together.
Here’s a limerick poem I wrote and illustrated that playfully reflects my thoughts:

original poem and illustration titled “There Once Was A Tom Cat…” by Clancy
This poem and illustration somewhat relates to my nested-ideas concept that I’m working with for my upcoming fine art exhibit. And this poem (along with others) could become an artist book to accompany my exhibit but I’m still playing around and not sure where all of this is going. This is one of the things I like about being an artist; getting to practice being flexible, playing and letting things unfold as they will.
Kind of like reading a novel, playing a game or sharing a meal with friends allows us to practice “letting things unfold…”.
On a technical note: To create the above poem and illustration I used pen and ink and gouache on a greyish off white handmade paper. It looks sharp in real life, and the paper is a dream to work on, but the scan accented the grey color of the paper more than the naked eye perceives in person. The scan looks good enough, I’m not unhappy … however, note to self; use white paper for things that will be scanned and leave this lovely greyish handmade paper for fine art stuff that will be photographed and not scanned.
I’m still learning!
Cute!
Thanks Becky!
Lol! Thanks Becky!!
Very sweet illustration. Your statement about “getting to practice being flexible, playing and letting things unfold as they will” really resonated with me. I think I use my art journaling to that end. I have certainly always used it for experimenting and trying out new materials and ideas but I am recognising more and more the way I use it just to freestyle without much expectation of the outcome and how much I benefit from being liberated from “doing my absolute best”.
Thank you! I think it is important to have some places in our mental-lives where we can mentally sit around in our comfy-clothes and not worry about “doing our best”. It’s important for our mental health – like physically relaxing/sleeping is for our body. Thank you for writing. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who see’s freestyle play as a value!