Small Worlds

“Surprise me,” I tell my mind’s eye as the pen touches the blank page in the spiral-bound sketchbook. “And make me smile.” No one has ever accused me of keeping the bar low.

I watch as imaginary shapes form on the page, as lines connect them and rules kick in to constrain it all. I walk away from each drawing when it feels finished, then go back. If I’m lucky, the pixie dust has done its work, sprinkling just the right amount of surprise and joy on the drawing. If not, well, paper is easy to tear up.

I post a few of them online. “Keep going,” a couple of friends encourage me, so I do. My ambitious large-scale pen and ink drawings of years past took weeks to complete. These are finished in a single session each, strange little worlds that I can’t pretend to understand but that I love exploring.

And they do make me smile.

See the book!