One certainty in our unavoidable relationships with non-living things: when they are difficult, we are the ones who end up doing all the work. Write about a difficult relationship that you have with something that is not alive. A physical object, perhaps. Something mechanical? An ugly-but-comfortable couch? Some intractable piece of technology? The weather? You can … [Read more...] about Oh the Difficulties!
Self
Listen!
Drawing is writing. When you draw, your thoughts move with the tip of the pen as the ink flows onto the page. Drawing uses a different part of your mind than talking does. Drawing without talking can improve your ability to listen. Try it! Set up your page by marking off a very small space for writing. Just enough room for a sentence or two. Then fill the rest of the … [Read more...] about Listen!
Temporary and Permanent
Begin by drawing a shape in the middle of the page. It will be your illustration space. You can make it circle, a square, an amorphous blob, whatever size you like. The draw two lines running from opposite sides of the shape to the edge of the page so that your page is roughly divided in half. On one side of the page, write about what's unlikely to change in your … [Read more...] about Temporary and Permanent
What You’re Good At
Fill a page by writing about something--or many things--that you are good at. Are you skilled somehow in the use of your hands? Your feet? Your body? Your mind? Some skills we seem to be born with. Others must be acquired. What kinds of things do people ask for your help with? Which of your skills are they appreciating? Is there something you are really good at but … [Read more...] about What You’re Good At
Inanimate Pals
How would you define that special kind of friendship that makes you call someone your pal? What are some of the things that pals do together? What kind of understandings can pass between pals? Think about the qualities of a pal, and think about your stuff, the inanimate objects in the orbit of your life. Write about one of those objects by describing it in terms of … [Read more...] about Inanimate Pals