I began working at a new job in the beginning of the year and felt overwhelmed with the amount of preparation work I had to complete before the start of the academic year. It was also a challenge to step into the shoes of a position previously held by a person who has worked there since the beginning. It felt as though I was compared to her. But I should mention that was a feeling on my part and not necessarily the truth. I set my own standards, and sometimes I'm too harsh with myself.
And then the lockdown happened.
Initially we were told it would last 21days, which was extended with two more weeks.
And then I realised these restrictions weren't going to disappear soon. It was our new normal.
It was also stressful, to be paid less, but having to work from home using our own equipment, when equipment breaks; you can't replace it since all online shopping was also frozen.
And as luck would have it, my laptop broke on the day lockdown began. My amazing boyfriend sat for a week trying to recover lost data on the computer, rebuilding a computer and fixing a laptop. He sat up until the early hours of night, after night until there was a workable computer for me. He really rescued the situation. I am so grateful for him. He is a blessing in my life. It is during times of crisis they say a person's true light shines through, and I saw his light is pure. So for all the bad stuff that happened and the people who were insensitive or dismissive and all the other things I don't even want to mention of the year, there is one thing I am grateful for and that is, him. God has been gracious to me.
There are dreamless times, when your head hits the pillow and you're gone. When you wake up you're so happy to have returned to your waking life, you want to jump up out of the bed and live. Then there are dream phases. Times in your life when nearly every night is an episode from the bizarre mind soapie. I'm currently in a dream phase. The dreams have the audacity to enter the waking life and bother me. Last night I dreamt there was a great eagle, nearly as tall as a human. People were gawking at the huge bird from their balcony and taking pictures of the bird. The bird began to enjoy it and posed for them. After he was satisfied, he began to eat them. I was this outsider, who realised that the bird allowed his meal to take hunting photos for him.
At first I was upset about all the dreams. How did this surrealism enter my life? But I felt better once I read that we undergo a lot of growth and internal change during dream phases. This is definitely a growing and changing time for me. I'm excited that I can grow. I believe it prepares me for beautiful realisations about life.
It's October and that means it is Inktober time. I participated for the first time last year and really enjoyed it. Thus I decided to participate again. I'm not using the official prompt list. The one thing I loved about the exercise last year was the spontaneity. At that time I had a lot of other illustration work, as well as other design work that was very concept driven. It was a nice reprieve to just draw, and draw for fun. I decided to keep it simple this year as well, by using a theme that was broad enough that it was easy to sit and immediately begin to draw. My goal is to draw 31 drawings (last year my goal was 20). The theme I choose is to draw film stills. So whereas last year I drew various African animals and birds, this year I am drawing people. Film stills are fun, because it has interesting layouts and facial expressions.
I made one video of the process work for the Youtube channel (it will be posted on Friday). I couldn't make more videos since all my equipment broke. I am however posting the drawings I make daily on Instagram.
The other fun part about Inktober is the opportunity to see work by other artists and illustrators and lovers of art.
May you be blessed, xE.