JOURNALS

Today was a quieter day than most and kind of forced me to keep things simple, which I suppose wasn't bad. Simplifying, I decided to focus on one major task and began working on the newsletter. I always promise myself that it'll be short, but somehow it never turns out that way. Still, it gave me a chance to reflect on the “Joined-Up Handwriting” project, thinking about where I've gotten with it and how it's actually more impressive than I give it credit for. It's good to look back sometimes and appreciate the progress.

For inspiration, I dug into some YouTube videos by an artist I'm just discovering. His work is documented in a style that I find quite fascinating. It's similar to something Casey Neistat does with his vlogs—quick cuts and dynamic shots that make it feel well-paced and engaging. Interestingly, Casey's brother Van had also used this style for documenting an artist's studio even before Casey started his YouTube journey. So really, applying that style to my pen plotting isn't far-fetched at all; it's rooted in the same background.

Given my limited studio access today, I couldn't explore anything new with pen plotting techniques. Much of the day went into soaking up inspiration through those videos, mainly focusing on videography rather than new techniques. I'm intrigued by the idea of how studio practices are documented—it often captivates me more than the art itself.

The bulk of my plans revolved around simply sitting quietly and behaving myself. Waiting and seeing if I’m needed elsewhere left me watching YouTube and planning the newsletter. I didn't record any video yesterday or today, just didn't have the mental bandwidth for it. Interestingly, although capturing the mundane isn't very stimulating, it creates a different cadence in the weeknotes videos. I suppose that's worth thinking about for my next recording.

Jury Duty is taking up more of my headspace than I’d like. Waiting around is taxing. Watching videos with headphones offers a slight escape, but I constantly feel like I’m on alert. Anticipating being called up doesn't leave much room for anything else. Tomorrow I’ll try to scrape together some newsletter content in the evening, especially since it needs to go out the next day. That's about it for today. More tasks await tomorrow.