Way back when, when I was a different me...
Categories: artwork, general-stuff, youth-work
Tags: Microsoft Expression, WYAC, busses, Kermode and Mayo podcast, Artwork
Date: 18 January 2014 11:00:44
So for a variety of reasons I'm chucking out and binning a lot of stuff, some of which reminds me of different aspects things I've been up to over the past 20 or so years.
From 2005 (?) to 2010 (?again :) ) I managed a very wonderful youth arts centre. Marvellous fun it was too with lots of music and film evenings and pretend journalism courses and artwork nights and drama and all sorts. Some amazing teens walked through our doors and I'm still convinced that one day I'll hear their names in a context that their talent deserves.
We were, in many senses of the word, a fantastic team. Not just the youth workers but the kids as well (and many of their parents too).
We even did gigs at Woking band stand, generally in ABSOLUTELY freezing or rainy conditions, and I often look back at those adventures and smile.
But one of the things I remember most is the bus journey to and from work. It was actually a very happy 75 minutes either way in many ways. I didn't have anyone asking me questions, giving me tasks, all that fun stuff. It was just me, my music, and whatever I was writing or drawing at the time. Occasionally I'd tell people I love drawing on busses and, more often than not, they'd get the wrong idea.
I'd often (and still do) listen to podcasts and one of my favourites, then and now, is Mayo and Kermode's film reviews. So one day, one a bus, I drew this:
... and then the next time I was on the bus (I seem to remember it being Tuesday and Thursday nights) I turned the sketch into this:
Now all I remember about it really is that I was on a bus, with my laptop perched on my knees, anticipating the curves and bumps of a journey I'd done for 10 years or so (having used the same bus for my prior job as a computer games artist).
It would have been around Jan-Feb time (as I was testing out not only a new piece of software on the lappie - Microsoft Expression Design - but also some lovely fonts from Comicbookfonts.com - something I used to treat myself to once a year). I vaguely remember this being, almost word for word, what the two said to each other (may have added cruxial but bearing in mind MKs mastery of the English language I may not) and it made me giggle to myself on the bus. So I drew this.
I miss being able to time artwork to bus timetables.