"Papa, what's that?"
Rohan turns two, but does not know the ways of the world.
Dear reader,
In today’s sneaky art drop, links to upcoming events, scenes from a quick trip to Mexico, and the importance of being earnest.
The SneakyArt Post is a newsletter of secretly drawn art of the world. If you like having it in your inbox, share this post with someone who might enjoy it too.
🗓️ Thu Feb 19 | Speaking and drawing at the Michael Wright Art Gallery in Port Coquitlam. My book, Make (Sneaky) Art, will be available to buy via Western Sky Books. Join me.
🗓️ Wed Feb 25 | Drawing live and talking about sketchbook habits with the Art Focus Artists’ Association in Port Coquitlam. I will bring copies of my book for anyone interested. Sign up.
💻 Thu Mar 5 | A 90-minute online session about how to build a 5-min drawing habit with Gwartzman’s Art Supplies. This event is open to all. Grab a seat.
This week was our first time at an all-inclusive resort. With the sketchbook, I tried to make sense of this familiar-but-strange experience of being neither here nor there, an experience that was nevertheless refreshing and exactly what we needed.
We went to Mexico to get off our Vitamin D tablets and grab some actual sunshine, and to celebrate Rohan turning two.
Not only is Rohan two years old, in a lot of ways his parents are too. Becoming a parent is like being reborn because you lose all memory of the life you had before, because your plans, schedules, goals, and ideas, are completely transformed, and because you learn new things about life. I look at my son every day, and draw him, and listen to him, and think about him. I realize there are ways to live that I would forget if not for him.
Consider this: Rohan does not know cynicism yet. He does not know he should play it cool. He wears all his emotions on his face, in his being, in his attitude to the world and us. He does not know that this makes him vulnerable. As he grows, he will learn. Shame will come into being. An image of self, and a sense of its inadequacy, will manifest within him. It will bring self-doubt, confusion, and pain. But it is not here yet. Maybe not for many years. If he holds it off for long enough, is he better positioned to fight it off for life? I think it is my biggest responsibility as a parent to help preserve his naivete. To not let artifice and cool and disaffected disenchantment take over.
“Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of this sort.” - Bruce Mau, An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth
Maybe that’s why we need to be around children?
So that I can learn it too, from watching him. That I must shed my own ideas of shame and self-loathing. That if I did, I could also let go of the various weapons of self destruction I have gathered to protect me from the world - jadedness, echo chambers, and the been-there-seen-that. I learned sometime ago that to be the artist that I wanted to become, I had to tear down my walls. But this lesson needs constant reminding and frequent resets.
Reader, this is my year of all going with my human-ness. It means not pretending to be a brand. It means not mistaking myself for a finished product. It means leaning on mistakes and weakness. It means strength through vulnerability. And it means leaving room to feel and express simple joys. These are, I believe, essential human things.
The Journey with SneakyArt Insiders
This year’s Special Project with paying subscribers is linocut block-printing. I am doing live work-sessions with Insiders over Zoom, where I draw, carve, and make prints, while chatting and answering questions. Our next session is this Tuesday.
To join, become a SneakyArt Insider and get the invite in your welcome email!
Also, this month’s Insider Giveaway is a signed bookplate in the mail to any paying subscriber who has an unsigned copy of my book, Make (Sneaky) Art. If that describes you, respond to this email with your mailing address!
Dear reader, thank you for your time and attention. It is a delight to speak with you in your inbox. Leave a comment, or hit reply to this email, to get in touch with me. I love to hear from you!
I didnt know about Bruce Mau, it seems great.. Do you know if this book (MC24) exist in translations ? perhaps in Quebec !?
In my working life, I was a preschool teacher and the 2 year child was the most interesting and fun stage to me. They know just enough to be dangerous! They have enough skills accumulated to really have a sense of themselves and the agency that those skills bring. They also seem to think they can do anything, anywhere, anytime, which is where attentive and loving adults are crucial. The balance between being protective yet encouraging is a vital parental skill at this point. I love that you are so curious and pay so much attention to Rohan's growth and individual being. Thank you.,