Use the "back to school" feeling for a creative project.
Hi! Guess what?
It’s September and people are back on campus. Everyone seems excited, and even the streets near schools in the city are full. I’m lucky to live in Boston, where I can pass through half a dozen schools on my commute, plus many more beautiful suburban campuses on weekends.
When I was at Wellesley campus for the beautiful hike around Lake Waban, I walked through the aftermath of a large group event. It looks like there were 50 participants at least, with tables set up in a giant circle around the lawn.
I love reading into the debris left over from celebrations, or events. Finding little notes and pieces, and trying to imagine the rest feels like fun detective work: I have constraints, and very little information, and it’s somehow very easy to start imagining the rest.
When I was at Wellesley campus for the beautiful hike around Lake Waban, I walked through the aftermath of a large group event. It looks like there were 50 participants at least, with tables set up in a giant circle around the lawn.
So I started an art project!
Conveniently, the first thing I found was one of those thick school notebooks that fit three separate subjects. (Have you ever used it properly, for three separate subjects? I’d always have separate notebooks, and they’d run out of room at very different speeds.)
The notebook had maybe one page filled in for each subject, and looked clearly forgotten. I also found several pens (and kept one) and a plastic mechanical pencil with a pleasant squishy grip. There was also tape left over from holding down plastic tablecloths, some handouts, and a bunch of trash I cleaned up in return for my newly found materials.
The college notebook is refreshing. It reminds me of structured learning and thinking, but at the same time it’s very far removed from my familiar design tools: an understated Muji or Moleskine notebook with subtly warm-toned paper, the heavy steel mechanical pencils, and ink markers. The college notebook feels structured, but not “nice” in the way design tools are nicer when they’re still pristine. It feels OK to be messy in it.
Finding your materials outside of an art supply store can help if you feel stuck, and are afraid of making the wrong move. The forgotten notebook would’ve been wasted if left out in the rain overnight, so I felt more comfortable using it for loose exercises.
Once I brought it home, I quickly filled a dozen pages with patterns, and some taped glitter (from the tables). I look forward to filling the rest of it with more easy practice. And because I believe that consistency will lead me to better results, I’m glad to keep this style of exercise going for days when I need to get away from clean lines and perfect strokes.
