The Kitchen Window sill

Sketch a day - Day 139/365

It's been another late working into the night kind of day. My brain is just much more alive for writing in the afternoon going into the night. But, these days, it's a balance because if I go too late then I just crash out. So, I try and let myself do some lateness but I don't go super late as that makes my long COVID go crazy.

The unexpected complications of learning to manage an invisible thing that doesn't come with an instruction manual. Its frustrating but also I never forget to feel immense gratitude for being able to really go at my writing again. Because couldny for ages.

For me - because I experience the act of writing in a very musical way - finding words is deeply tied up with repetition and flow and the sound of the words, as much as the literary ‘wordness’ of the thing.

It has to flow. I have to go into the words and repeat, going over and over and over a scene until the sense of it emerges.

And sometimes, only then, will a key story moment suddenly come into view. I mean, it's the most inefficient way imaginable to write anything. But it does seem to be my way. So it takes time.

I am at the stage, with my Otherhood play, where my desk is a mouldering tip of notes paper and books. And my brain is flipping around like a fish. Excited, fearful, excited, fearful etc.

Other news?

In a moment of rashness when I was having a break, I joined Liz Steels patreon. I really love her drawing and I have wanted to do a class forever but I can't afford it. Joining the Patreon allows me to hang out a bit in her world and see a bit more into her process. It is of course a moment of madness, because, at the moment, when will I ever have time to watch the videos?

But I suspect there is a bit of carrot and stick going on in my head here.

If I finish the scene, I can watch 10 minutes of Liz Steel explaining what kind of drawing notebook she uses and why. This IS my jam. Oh yes it is.

Another part of the day I watched news and videos coming out of Gaza. Food and aid continues to be used like chess pieces by Israel. Another violent onslaught is promised, aimed at people weakened by hunger. You try running to save your life when you’re starving to death.

Meanwhile I saw that the UK, French and Canadian govts have come together to announce something along the lines of ‘very soon we might get the courage up to actually say something very firm to Israel indeed, about this Gaza situation that might be wrong.’

Everything about this ultra absurd genocide would be funny, if only there were not a whole people on the brink of total destruction as the punchline.

Where is people's understanding that a world where this can happen so brazenly to any human means it can happen to us all.

I watched and read until I couldn't watch or read anymore.

So, to the actual sketch. Once again I left things super late. I decided to draw the various things on our kitchen window sill. I decided to draw in red. Because sometimes red calls to me.

And that's all I’ve got tonight.