New Year, New Stuff

Today was like most Mondays.  I got up, got ready for work, sat at my desk, and took care of business. But as I responded to e-mails, took calls, and finished a few projects, I realized that in three weeks, I'll be back in classes.  I'll have a lot less time on my hands to spend away from course readings, writing papers, and the day to day affairs of a home owning nine-to-fiver.  Right now, I have time, and I'd better start to take advantage of it.

So on my lunch break, I grabbed a sheet of "second life" paper, a number 2 pencil, and I drew.  Nothing fancy; just a 30 minute sketch of a stegosaur.  And it was amazing.  Not the sketch itself.  It looked like one of the lumbering beasts from the books I read as a child.  But the act, just going for it without researching, referencing, or even really thinking about it, was something I hadn't done in a long time.  Too long.  It was absolutely freeing, and exactly what I needed to get myself out of the creative slump I've been in for... well, a while.

I really want to hang onto that feeling and start creating again.  Not setting deadlines, and worrying about holding myself to them.  Just enjoying the process, and getting back to doing what I really love to do.  Luckily there is a wonderful community of science bloggers and artists out there that provide constant inspiration with their work.  So to get the ball rolling on this end, here's the "evolution" of that stegosaur, from start to finish (eraser marks and all).

Maybe it will be another sketch, or a photo, or a brief post about who knows what.  But there will be more coming soon.  I'm looking forward to it.