238. Traffic Light, Library, Train

the best tiny stories you wrote, my tiny drawings for you, and a note about drawing on trains. also, events this month.

Dear reader,

Last week, I asked you to write tiny stories! In today’s post, I share the winning stories that brought so many tiny people to life, and the drawings I am sending as a prize.

It gives me great joy to share my work in your inbox. And it is the greatest pleasure to send tiny drawings all over the world to readers who will cherish them. Thank you for being part of this.

The SneakyArt Post is a publication of secretly drawn art of the world. Every week, I share the latest drawings from my sketchbooks and the best ideas from my journey as an artist and writer.

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✍🏼 The Best Tiny Stories of the Month

Congratulations Anu! Please email me your mailing address.

Congratulations

Mat Thornburg

of

Swashbuckling Bear

! Please email me your mailing address.

Read all the wonderful stories in last week’s contest.

📬 Tiny Drawings in the Mail

Dear winners of this month’s tiny story contest, I am delighted to send you these tiny drawings, each one a tiny story from my big world.

Person waits under a traffic light.

Traffic lights fascinate me almost as much as the people that wait under them. They are a symbol of unspoken human cooperation, of the agreements and processes by which every city works. How we see a red light speaks for many deeper realities - how we see our place in the city, how we regard our obligation to other people, and how we perceive the role of the city itself (and by extension, governmental authority) in our lives.

I think about how my behaviour changes when I am in India versus when I am in Vancouver. If you observed only the way I cross the street, you might think I was two different people.

Finally, I am reminded of a late night in Delft (in the Netherlands), where I studied for my Master’s degree. I was cycling back from a friend’s home, and had stopped at a red light. A few seconds later, seeing that the intersection was completely deserted on all sides, I was struck by the absurdity of the situation. There I waited patiently, with one foot on the ground and the other on the bike pedal, for the light to give me permission to go home!

How did this happen to me? When did I change so much?

There are rules we live by. And there are norms we adhere to. Rules (or laws) are enforced by threat of punishment. Norms are enforced by social behaviour around us. We may defy the law, but we may not want to upset the norm. We may not care about norms, but we may be afraid to break the law. Who you are, and when and why, is not just about you, but also your time and place.

Dear reader, have you noticed your own behaviour change with the norms of your environment?

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A little girl cries to see her book going away.

A library is a magical place in today’s world. You do not have to prove yourself worthy of entering this safe space with free wifi, clean toilets, and the accumulated knowledge of the world. Everything is for you, just by the virtue of being human. And sometimes that makes it the best place to find humanity.

At the Vancouver Public Library, they have an automated assembly-line at the entrance to simplify book returns. The day before Christmas eve, as I entered, I heard a little girl crying. Her father had placed their book on the mat, and as it disappeared from sight, she yelled - “Nooooo! We need another one! We need another one!”

I was completing the drawing, as the father held his daughter up on his shoulders and shared a laugh with the bemused security personnel. A part of me itched to share it with them, but I did not do it. Sneaky Art does not intrude upon its subjects. Silently, I wished her happy reading in the new year. May she find many, many books that hurt to see going away.

My latest Note about drawing on the Vancouver TransLink resonated with many followers.

Compare the lines from Vancouver with a drawing attempted on the NYC subway last year! Can you spot the difference in rhythm?

Dear reader, have you tried drawing (or writing) on a train?

💻 SneakyArt Insider Hangout of July

This summer, monthly hangouts are open to all readers. In this month’s session, I will share the recently completed Book #2 of Rohan, and then we will draw together!

🗓️ Saturday 13 July
⏰ 10 am PT

🎪 Draw with me in downtown Vancouver!

I am conducting a pop-up Drawing Clinic in collaboration with the City of Vancouver’s PlayDates program. Join me for a 2-hour sketching session where I share my favourite drawing tips and techniques!

🗓️ Wednesday 24 July
⏰ 12 - 2 pm PT
📍 Robson Square, Vancouver.

🇨🇦 Also, Vancouver folks

Come find me at the closing ceremony of the Indian Summer Festival on 14 July. I will also be selling prints at a pop-up stall in Lonsdale Quay Market in North Vancouver on 16 & 17 July. Did you buy the SneakyArt x 49th Parallel Coffee line of merchandise? Check it out and participate in our giveaway! Also, I might be at Vancouver Mural Fest next month, but more on this soon.

Thank you for your tiny stories, thank you for being a reader, and thank you for giving me a space in your inbox. It is a privilege.