ART – PENCIL SKETCHING

“I’d forgotten how much I loved sketching – funny how we abandon the things that feed our souls in favor of spreadsheets and Zoom meetings. There I was, rediscovering my artistic side like finding an old friend on Facebook, except this reunion didn’t involve awkward small talk about failed marriages or pyramid schemes.

The tools had been there all along, tucked between printer toner and Post-its like some sort of artistic Easter egg hunt in my office supplies. My sketchpad and pencils had apparently been practicing the art of camouflage among the corporate mundanity, patiently waiting while I churned out TPS reports and passive-aggressive emails about cleaning the break room fridge.

Despite my long hiatus from art (let’s call it an “extended creative sabbatical” – sounds fancier than “I got lazy”), it was remarkable how that artistic pulse still thrummed beneath my business-casual exterior. It’s like muscle memory for the soul, if you’ll pardon the brief descent into greeting card territory.

Time dissolves differently when you’re sketching – not in the “Oh god, I’ve been scrolling TikTok for three hours” way, but in a peaceful, meditative state that makes you forget about your inbox exploding or that weird noise your car’s been making. My hands remember what to do, channeling years of practice and training like some sort of artistic Jedi. Though I suspect Yoda would have something to say about my perspective skills: ‘Draw better angles, you must.’

It’s both humbling and exhilarating to realize that while climbing the corporate ladder, my creative spirit has been doing burpees in the background, staying surprisingly fit despite my neglect. Perhaps it’s time to pencil in (pun absolutely intended) regular dates with my sketchpad – right between ‘quarterly planning meeting’ and ‘pretend to understand cryptocurrency.'”

---