Instructions for Living a Life
#260 with the life-cycle of a little free drawing.
Dear reader,
I was waiting at the bus stop for the #50 bus - the one that changes to #15 - to take me home. Across the street, I spotted people trying to go the other way, waiting for the #15 bus that would change into the #50. Lights flashed in the distance and, for a moment, everyone looked in the same direction. I guess there was nothing special about it but there was something there that was the job of the artist to see, and I was ready with a little sketchpad.
📖 “Instructions for Living a Life”
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.- Mary Oliver
The SneakyArt Post is a publication of secretly drawn art of the world. Every day I pay attention and seek astonishment. Once a week, I tell you about it. Thank you for giving me a space in your inbox.
🔄 The Life-Cycle of a Little Drawing
Late on a cold November afternoon, a little drawing was born. It took only a minute, maybe two.
It lived in the artist’s studio, tacked to the wall, where others came to see it among many other little drawings.
It was put into a little plastic bag with a little note to explain its purpose. It was inserted at Chapter 9 of a well-thumbed copy of The Godfather by Mario Puzo, inside a little free library by the side of an inner street in Cambie Village.
It was found.
It now lives in its new home, playing a new role among new lives, sparking joy, and adding beauty to a new world.
Dear reader, if this isn’t nice, what is?
For several months, I have been thinking about the purpose of art. (Intrepid readers have been part of this journey.) Why create? Why look at art? Why share it with anyone else? Why make it part of your world? I know these are good questions because the answers are never complete. I am always thinking about them, always reformulating new answers. As we grapple with the consequences of our cultural colonization at the hands of tech giants, with the-thing-they-call-AI-Art, it is no longer enough to live passively under easy assumptions and inherited positions. All humans must think about why human things matter.
This week’s answer is: connection.
Dear reader, why do the human things matter?
Related: writes about the replacement of human creativity with AI-slop. grapples with the possibilities of AI as a tool for illustrators.
📬 My Month of Giving Away Art
In case you missed it, this is my month of giving away art. Besides leaving drawings at Little Free Libraries in Vancouver, I am also sending art to readers all over the world. For a chance to win a drawing this week, tell me which book you would leave at a Little Free Library!
If you like having my work in your inbox, talk about this newsletter at work parties. Relentlessly share the link below. Make family dinners super-awkward by talking only about me. Be the change I want to see in the world.
👶 Times New Rohan
Thank you for your time and attention. More good lines next week.
Someone down the street from my father's house has a "Poetry Corner." Instead of a Little Free Library or similar, they have a stand where they pin up a new poem (weekly I think?) behind plexiglass and leave copies of it inside for people to take if they wish.
I would leave, a picture book, The Weaving Book, yes it is one that I wrote, and I wrote it because I want everyone to experience the magic of learning how to weave. I've seen so many people of all ages light up once they've learned the process.
I love the idea of opening and book and discovery a tiny drawing with a story, such a fun and thoughtful gift to the community.