Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Where Does That Wild Abandon Go?

I think I was about 7 years old when I wrote this. It says:
 "On Sat, Nov 20  I went to the Field Museum. My Mommy took me with her. My Mommy did sketches while I went to the toy shop and glanced at the interesting things they had on display. At the toy store I bought two barometer dogs. Then I watched my Mommy make sketches. When I was glancing around I saw another lady sketching. When my Mommy was finished with her sketch she moved to another display. Soon, it was time to go, so I waited for my Mommy to clean up...at the toy shop. At the toy shop a lady had to sell 17 cents before she left...so a guard bought two 10-cent pencils and said
"Now you know what you're getting for Christmas."
Then my Mommy came for me and Daddy picked us up and we went home.
I thought I got into journaling when I first discovered the book "Artist's Way" in the 90s. But recently, a dear friend inspired me to dig up some childhood drawings I had mentioned...and because she was thoughtful enough to ask to see some of it... I found a huge stash of sketches from my childhood! What a trip! I had sketchbooks from age 6, drawings from age 3, and I found I also used to art journal as a young girl. I found this entry I typed and sketched of my Mom sketching at the Field Museum in Chicago. I remember the feeling as a child of loving to draw and always drawing whenever I could. I didn't have that adult fear of "it's not good enough"...I'd just draw whatever I felt. I wonder how...that childhood wild abandon gets trained out of us when we become adults.