why people draw: interviews

Hello!
It’s already wednesday and as usual the week is flying by. I’ve been working on drawings that will come out as prints soon, so stay tuned. Blogging is proving to be quite a mental exercise–so the hamster in my head is running and running, and sweating, and is wondering when the lightbulb will finally light up.  Run faster hamster! Faster!
One of the things I want to share with you in this blog is interviews with people who enjoy drawing, dedicate their life to drawing, or people for whom drawing is one of the most enjoyable activities on the planet.  For anyone who knows me, drawing for me is a way of communicating–usually funny ideas–and is one of the most enjoyable activities on the planet!  So, I am curious to know why others draw and where their ideas come from. And for you out there,  feel free to share why you like drawing, or why you would much rather enjoy drawing from a distance.
I just went through my scrapbook–a three-volume collection that my mom lovingly put together for each one of her three kids (an amazing feat! keep in mind that I’m the youngest.  In any other family, as the last kid, I would’ve gotten a shoebox filled with photos! So thank you Mom!)–and found one of my first drawings made when I was a little over 3 and 1/2 years old; and a couple of photos of me, at ages 4 and 5 doing what? Why drawing of course!

untitled, pen on notebook paper (1978) by carolina pedraza

carolina, age 4

carolina, age 5

Since I will be asking others why they draw, or why drawing is important to them, I figured I would get the ball rolling by telling you why drawing is important to me.  Here are a few questions I asked myself when I was running the program Draw On! at The Aldrich Museum–as I was also asking them of artists with whom we had worked–and a couple of other questions I added on. This time I will play both roles: HW=the hamster wheel and CP=moi!
HW: Why do you draw?
CP: I draw because sometimes I have so many ideas that I think are funny inside my head, I at least have to see some of them on paper. I draw because it’s another way for me to communicate.  I draw because it’s so much fun to be able to show others the image that only I can see in my brain.  I draw because it’s the one thing that I feel I’m good at, and the thing in which I have seen my progress throughout the years.
HW: What does drawing mean to you?
CP: Drawing is one the most fun activities that keeps me thinking & keeps me entertained.  I get lost while I draw; it’s my way of entering a world that no one else can see until I make the marks on paper…and even if no one gets to see it (although my preference is that at least one poor soul does), I can still be my own best audience.  And drawing makes me laugh, and I love it even more when it makes others laugh! The sharing part is extremely fun for me. I’ve noticed that people love to see themselves as cartoons, or at least have their quirks illustrated as cartoons (at least that’s what I keep telling myself!)
HW: What is your favorite thing to draw with?
CP: It depends on where I am. When I was working at the Museum,  during a meeting, a ballpoint pen was the best, while at other times a fine point Sharpie is also super handy. At home, either an extra fine point sharpie, or some kind of disposable rapidograph like the Copic Multiliner, Prismacolor Premier, or the Sakura Pigma Micron Pens in 01, 03 and 05 points.  But then again, I also really like to draw with chalk, and with my finger on the steamed up shower glass door, and with those 3 crayons you find at some restaurants that are meant for children (but you snatch them from the hostess’ desk anyway!)…
HW: What is your favorite thing to draw on?
CP: Anything, really.  I’m not much of a paper snob. Copy paper (printed or not; full sheet or small piece), notebook paper, Bristol board, chalkboard, an old envelope, napkins, sticky notes, sand…you get the picture.
HW: What gets your hamster wheel running? (what gets you itching to draw?)
CP: Any time I hear or read a funny quote it sure gets my wheel turning!  Sometimes I just visualize the cartoon in my head and chuckle–many people throughout my life have told me that I think about and see life in cartoons. Woohoo! Thom, my husband, sometimes has to beg that I stop laughing and share the “film in my head,” as he puts it, so I can let him in on the fun.  I love it when I’m actually able to get it down on paper, because that means I can share the joke.   For many years now, friends and co-workers have been what I call my “victims…err…my subjects,” and several of them have found themselves in the Portfolio page.
Coming up on March 2: Elwood H. Smith!
Our first “real” interview will be with humorous illustrator Elwood H. Smith, whose upcoming exhibition at the Norman Rockwell Museum titled  Elwood’sWorld: The Art and Animation of Elwood H. Smith, opens this weekend, on February 19. Can’t wait! Thom and I are going on the 21. Yay!

http://wackyshortscreations.com/2011/02/16/why-do-people-draw-interviews-with-people-who-like-drawing/