I started blogging before blogs even had a name, and in late 2002 e-mailed out my first Sketch-of-the-Week.
I’ve been doing it periodically ever since, but now it’s getting to be problematical. With all the spam out there my mass mailing is nailed as spam and often doesn’t get through. Then there’s the problem of managing close to a thousand e-mail addresses. And finally the server I’m sending though shut down mass e-mailings which are now limited to mailings of under one hundred. Not to mention the time and effort in putting it all together once a week. It’s gotten to be too much so I’ve stopped Sketch-of-the-Week the way it was done. I’m switching over to a Blog and Facebook.
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Over the years my Sketches-of-the-Week seemed to hit a chord with some of the subscribers. Here are a few of the comments I received:
“Wow! Richard . . .poetry, too! "caged in by dark shadow" . . .been there . . . Great sketch and the story is exactly right! Your search for the common moments reminds me of how much we all do have in common. Thank you.” JG, Wisconsin
“Awesome! Poetic, powerful both sketch and writing...you are soooo talented!”
MH, Liverpool
“Nicely portrayed, very well described. A good piece.” AW, Halifax
“Just a quick note on your sketches...I've really enjoy receiving them. I think they are excellent. You have a wonderful "way with words" as the old people used to say.” MJ, Dartmouth
“I don't think there's much difference between writing and drawing. It's all a question of observation and perception. I got such a charge from your description of the Moser River Stone Soup Festival. Whether you had written about it or sent me drawings, it's
now all pictures in my mind.” PL, Montreal
“I cannot fully tell you how much I love your drawings and your writings. Every week, I feel almost pained with envy for your creative journey and filled with admiration for your courage and dedication to doing what is right for you. You are my role model.” DR, Ottawa
“I found this sketch very moving. Thank you. There's such warmth here. Lovely. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate your wonderful work.” JB, Liverpool, NS
“I think you are every bit as much "the philosopher" as you are artist. Thanks, as per usual.” LF, Calgary
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Here are some past Sketches-of-the-Week…
Trying something new doesn’t always work out, but you pick yourself up and try again and -- eventually -- success! It’s called the school of hard knocks, and it works really well. Failure is part of the process. What would happen if no one took risks? What would the world be like if everyone played it safe?
March 30, 2008
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Not the sort of thing you might expect to find on a walk in the park. Two knights decked from head to toe in medieval armour. They advance, parry, pound the heck out each other, inflicting no actual harm. Perhaps instead of trying to suppress and deny the aggressive streak running though human nature we should follow their lead and encourage more non-lethal ways to express it.
April 13, 2008
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Hoops in the square. It’s spring, the sun is out -- and so are the people. No lack of subject matter for my memory sketches now. Who hasn’t hoola-hooped as a child? Here is how they are doing it on the Grand Parade in Halifax.
April 27, 2008
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As I work with the eleven-and-twelve-year-olds to paint a mural for their school, they can’t contain their excitement and enthusiasm. Watch the body language and listen to the voices of people of all ages when they express their creative selves and you will see the same fantastic side of humanity.
February 17, 2008
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If there is something you loved to do as a youngster then there is every reason to expect that you will love to do it still. It might be drawing, music, sports…or riding your bike. My “bike hikes” take me far and wide, and are one of my most favourite things to do. The Flemming Park ride to the Dingle is one of the hilliest, but down on the Northwest Arm is a little beach where I can get off and walk on the sand and listen to the waves and smell the sea.
May 11, 2008
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Gardens bursting with vitality after the long winter’s wait. Thirsty for life, rhizomes quicken, roots deepen, and sprouts push for the sky. In a spring-tide miracle of rebirth, it’s a mad rush to grow. Grow! Grow! Buds swell, leaves unfurl, and flowers bloom in an urgent race for the sun.
June 1, 2008
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We are here to celebrate a life, they say, and we are, but it’s also about endings. Let us pray, they say, and my thoughts dissolve to appreciation for my family, my friends, and all those who have come before me. Appreciation too for death, which is, after all, part of life. Looking up I see a small face gazing at me over his father’s shoulder, a new beginning embodying life itself. Life ends so that new life may begin, and so the wheel turns.
June 8, 2008
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Spring Garden Road is a people-place this week with the Atlantic Jazz Festival in full swing. People walking around with big goofy smiles on their faces. Couples dancing to the music. Kids wolfing down hot dogs. More streets in Halifax should be closed to motorized vehicles more often. Power to the people!
July 13, 2008
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Coordinated movements of t’ai chi blending into the landscape: slow, natural, and deliberate. Silently, with no beat to follow, no obvious leader, the self discipline and practice of each individual a part of the larger choreography. Participants conforming to a kind of self absorbed group concentration, seemingly oblivious to the city as it goes on about its business.
September 21, 2009
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Like-minded folk coming together to make a statement. Speeches, cheers, thumping drums, signs, the whole nine yards. What does it take to get people riled up enough to shake off their complacency and go out of their way to rally, march, protest…and, ultimately, to cast a ballot? In spite of the fact that we live in a time of unprecedented wealth, health and opportunity we are in a climate of fear and stress. Have we bought into the idea that running a country is like running a business? I hope not.
October 6, 2008