We are all doing our best
..and how not to measure your journey on anyone else's but yours
It’s been months and ages and even more time in between..
As I’m writing this I’m sitting in a cool breeze enjoying the summer evening and listening to our South African neighbours having a braai. In the empty space above were all of the justifications that I tried to write about my absence, but none of it feels relevant. So lets focus on what has been going right!
I spend an afternoon with one of my favourite illustrators ever at an illustration festival.
I have reduced my day-job to 3 days a week, claiming back some creative time for me to do more of the things that makes me happy.
We went on a week break in Dwingeloo (real place) in the Netherlands.
I have made 2 more life-journey drawings; one was for a wedding-invitation and the other was for a wedding-gift.
We booked a holiday to Germany and Paris.
I went to celebrate the 2024-2025 graduates of the Venster academy, and marvel in their incredible illustration journeys
I re-started some online courses.
I replaced my old imac because i cant update the OS anymore, and am now working on a laptop (yay mobility)
I got some REAL glasses, and feel bloody unstoppable.
Organised and celebrated birthdays.
Finally saw Nine-inch-Nails live!
I completed not 1 but almost 2 sketchbooks
All of these are a win in my eyes (pun intended and not intended). There has been some extreme lows in this time too, but I can cope better to look at what I have achieved rather than at what was challenging.
I was deeply inspired by this boy I saw at a restaurant “Het Engelse werk”, we ate at on the way to our Dwingeloo. It was a very busy day at the riverside-restaurant, loads of day-trippers of every kind hiding out from the rain and wanting to grab lunch at this popular spot. Outside on the closed veranda there was an autistic boy using ALL of his coping mechanisms to be non-disruptive. At some point when the need to move was too great, he stood up and in gentle tai-chi-like movements stood to the side and “flew away” with his support toy, a blue rubber man. When he felt better he rejoined the table where his family was finishing their meal.
Just before they left I gave him the postcard. He showed his mom. We collectively swallowed away the lump in our throats. Everyone deserves to be seen. And a shared victory is double the joy.
We are living through some bizarre times.. where news about a pretty unknown ceo caught cheating on his wife is making more waves in the world than megalomaniacs starting and enticing wars. Where companies rather use AI than creating something with real emotion. Where fast results are more celebrated than lasting change. Where we have trouble remembering what happened the week before last …
I’m curious as to how you are coping and what your wins are. What has inspired you?
Love as always,
Adele