\nI have been drawing in some fashion since I can remember. Encouraged by my parents I was always a creative child. Some fond memories from my childhood are the art classes that I took with my mom at nearby art guilds – paper crafting, clay sculpture, wood carving, and weaving all come to mind.<\/p>\n

Rare was the school assignment turned in without some sort of doodles in the margins. And as a creative, even though I rarely struggled with much that the school threw at me, I frequently challenged the teachers. As a creative, the world doesn’t seem to be a fixed thing to me – and I won’t accept parts of it without knowing the why and the how.<\/p>\n

Doodles, now and forever<\/h2>\n

The doodles have always appeared on the edges of my papers and throughout my notes. When I had outside projects that I was working on, whether a comic strip, learning calligraphy, or working on murals, the doodles just reflected those projects. No matter where I was, my notes were never just words – whether at school, church, or even the Army’s BASIC training.<\/p>\n

Turning A Beloved Hobby Into a Job<\/h2>\n

Before returning to school I made my living as a commissioned portrait artist. And while people loved my work I found myself waiting until the last minute to even start each project. Ultimately I discovered that while I am more than capable of working as a portrait artist it doesn’t excite me. The work quickly became a job, something that I didn’t look forward to but did only because it paid the bills. After awhile I just quit accepting commissions and moved on to other work.<\/p>\n

Art Schooling<\/h2>\n

Whenever you asked me what I would study in college the answer was always “something and art”. The “something” might have changed a few times but the “and art” was always part of the answer. Even though it took me a nearly a decade and a couple of attempts to stay in school (due to my fiance’s diagnosis<\/a>) that statement came mostly true, if reversed. I started out majoring in Accounting and switched over to an Art Studio Major. Despite the fact that I didn’t like working as a portrait artist, I couldn’t shake my love of creating. Ultimately, my degree was “Art and Art History and Business” – a major and two minors. As I see it, I became a “certified artist.<\/a>”<\/p>\n

Just as I had up until college, I frequently disagreed with my teachers and did not enjoy the process. Every semester started off with great hopes as I read the class syllabi and the project descriptions. And every semester became more frustrating each week as the ideas that I had never aligned with the teachers’ ideas.<\/p>\n

Outgrowing Myself<\/h2>\n

Ultimately, school caused me to grow as an artist. I spent time focused on creating art, learning techniques from teachers and classmates, and exploring mediums that I would not have tried on my own. I rediscovered the joy of the creative habit. Unfortunately, it also burned me out on creating.<\/p>\n

Upon graduation, though I worked at an art-focused non-profit, I basically quit making any art for a couple of years. My time was taken up with spreadsheets and restaurants and motorcycle riding. Looking back, I continued creating, though through different avenues than before, in ways that would have been looked down upon in the art school.<\/p>\n

Designing Our Future<\/h2>\n

As my wife’s graduation date drew near we discussed our plans for the future. I put in my 2 month notice at the art non-profit and we prepared to move back home, where she had just found a new job. During those final 2 months I began creating again – making wire stick figure sculptures and drawing stick figures on the back of my business cards. The projects were fun and coworkers really seemed to enjoy them.<\/p>\n

We moved and I focused on the job hunt while she dove into her new position. I wasn’t sure what to do with the stick figures. My data-management experience at the non-profit helped me find a job at a tv-production company, where I was the “tech guy”, in charge of making sure the hundreds of hours of video and thousands of photographs were correctly stored and dispersed as needed – while fixing the printer and helping move heavy boxes.<\/p>\n

Still Doodling<\/h2>\n

After about 16 months I started doodling again – scribbling in notebooks while waiting for file transfers to complete. Lists of project ideas were created. Art was exciting again and the possibilities were endless. Too endless. I decided to focus just on stick figures.
\nAnd here we are today. Exploring the world though the eyes of stick figures, and only stick figures<\/a>. Creating art for the fun of it, making things that delight me and that I hope you enjoy as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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