This afternoon, I watched Dear Mr. Watterson on Netflix. Its a film about Bill Watterson and his famous comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes—probably my favorite strip of all time. From when I was a kid, to when I was in high school, I wanted to be a comic strip artist. My great uncle, Percy Crosby, was a famous cartoonist in the first half of the 20th century, and he was mentioned in the documentary. He was also a philosopher and political and social commentator. Early on, I aspired to be like him. He even pissed off Al Capone, although Im not sure Ill take it that far. In high school, I drew my own strip about a young pot-smoking rocker named James Head. I still have the strips in a desk drawer somewhere. Ill have to take photos and post them sometime. Watterson is an extreme recluse, and a good many comic book artists are introverts. They express through their art, and the introvert personality enables them to spend long seasons alone hammering away at their craft. For whatever reason, I was given an extroverts personality with an introverts skill set. In my heart of hearts, I feel that I am an artist. I like to create. Whether through words or pictures, I want to articulate what I feel and experience. Even in the bad seasons of my life, I sort of relish in whats happening because I want to feel every bit of it. I want to know how it alters my outlook on the world. I want to see how I respond. From it all, I want to make something, and for me, that is the true definition of creativity: to make visible things by invisible means. Whether a comic book artist, writer, lyricist, musician, chef, or whatever, an amazing quality of being human is the ability to create—to bring something new that never was before. Sure, we derive from outside sources that went before us, but still, we make something that is our own. Thats why were sensitive to critique. We interpret the criticism of our work as a criticism of us. It is, in some ways, but not in the personal ways we take it. The word inspire means to breathe into, and thats what creativity is like. Its breathing life into something and making it real. Its a divine process, and one that I cherish with all my heart. Its an intimacy with my deepest gifts and the universe that cannot be shared. Its mine. My only responsibility is to honor it by making it more and then spilling it on my own spheres of influence. I hope you do the same, because I also need what you bring into the world. Our time here is short. Lets take what we have and make it more. We owe it to each other.
Posted on: Sat, 31 May 2014 23:14:30 +0000
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