Get In the Boat
I didn’t mean to post my sailboat drawing here at The Ruff Draft. I have another, slightly more clandestine (I like that word) blog called Ruff Edge Design that I think of as the place for my art attempts and…
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I sometimes think of myself as a word collector or a knowledge collector. Either of those is a label I can live with, and after attaching one to my breast, I want to delve a bit. Do I collect knowledge…
White, Grey, Black
“I asked him what prayers. He said they prayed to Yezu Klisto and someone called Simon. Is that the same as Simon Peter?” “No, not quite the same. The fathers could tell you about Simon. He died in gaol nearly…
Cowardly Bravery
“Practicing courage, compassion, and connection in our daily lives is how we cultivate worthiness. The key word is practice.” —Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection I am tempted to copy down more of the paragraph from page 7 of Brown’s…
We Can’t Let the Light Go Out
“Men do not learn when they believe they already know.” —Barbara Ward I added that quote to the signature line of my email long ago. I am still unsure about who Barbara Ward actually is or was: an author (probably), an…
Know It All
The Volume Library. God love you, Dad. When you signed on the dotted line for that scam, you were trying to do the right thing. Your blood sugar may have been on the way down and you just wanted your…
A New Way of Living
Today is the first day of my new life. It sounds dramatic, I know, but I spent my old life avoiding drama at all costs. So, let’s double down on the drama: everything I thought I knew was just guessing.…
Peace on Earth
Has there ever been peace in the world, and if so, will there ever be again? I suppose it depends upon who you ask. Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, has an image of world peace that looks…
Do Any of Us Really Know What We are Doing?
Paleo Principles by Sarah Ballantyne is an enormous tome, and I generally set a box of poker chips atop the pages of one side to hold it open so I can read while I eat breakfast. Bridget purchased the book…
The Awful Futility of Explaining
In Marcel Billot’s foreword to Sacred Art by M.A. Couturier, he explains that L’Art Sacré was a review run for a time by two Dominican priests, Father Couturier and Father Pie-Raymond Régamey. They managed, apparently, to work together and produce…
Never Underestimate the Importance of Good Editing
I still cover up much of my old artwork, especially in art journals. Sometimes, the inclination stems from the little voice in my head saying, “You’re doing it wrong.” Sometimes, a page doesn’t need to be completely covered up; it…
Settling In with the Quiet Sounds
Items continue to pile up on my desk and in my mind. I recently went to TJ Maxx to see if I could find a suitable inbox, but there was nothing that would hold my entire studio. Of course, the…
