When I was in high school, we played a game called Strategem in which each player acted as a minister in government. One player would demand money to develop the military, another would request funds for agriculture, another would need money to develop resources, another would request funds to keep the country's environment clean and all players would have to agree on how to distribute the money. The goal was to work together to operate the country and make it "successful" - I can't remember what or how success was defined or scored.
Despite the name, it was a simulation that showed how each department had to work together to make the country "work". Most interestingly (to me) was how industry minister and environment minister were often at odds. If industry got too little and the environment got lots, your country would limp along, if most of the money went to industry, the environment would take a hit and in a few rounds your country would crash. Maybe the game needed a tourism minister who could show that a beautiful environment would bring tourist dollars?! Anyway...
When Stephen Harper said what he said (shown in the cartoon above), I was amazed and pleased that he was (I think) honest, but also very disappointed.
I can't do much, but I can voice my frustration and talk about my hopes and dreams. I can speak about what I think is wrong and what I think is important and how I want the world to be. But this isn't just about me. On this voting day in Ontario and everywhere else and every day hereafter, lets start talking about what we want, what's right, what's wrong and how we want OUR world to be.
When I was a kid (and sort of looked nothing like the one on the right in the drawing above), I used to do one drawing on a sketchbook page. Not only was it a waste of paper, but I think it created a bad mentality.
It's was all fine and good if I did a great drawing on a page. The page was done, don't touch it, leave it, keep it perfect. Same thing if I did a bad drawing, but I started a new page out of shame - don't touch it, move on, I never drew that. Worse yet if I did a bunch of skunky drawings in a series. That could wreck a sketchbook. Bad book, bad book!
Recently I've been doing something different. If I do a bad drawing and assuming I've not inked it or can somehow alter it, I do. Often weeks or months later, I erase as much as I can, try to re-imagine the original inspiration and draw on top of the old stuff.
I still tend to do a single drawing on a page and leave it. Take the one above. I did the guy in the center with the child standing on the chair few months ago. I liked it well enough when I did it, but the more I looked at it, the less I liked it. Somehow it's too cartoony and the adult's feet look too heavy or out of proportion. Maybe I didn't like the style. Maybe I thought I was being too profound or like I was trying to say something.
Anyway, last night I returned to this page and did the unthinkable. I drew some new figures on either side of the original ones! They have a similar style an weirdness and I can imagine some more elements - some other people caught in picture frames perhaps. But do you want to know the best part? I've dodged the shame of a lone bad drawing on a page and the page has been rescued! As for the quality and fate of the sketchbook? Well... that's not entirely decided yet!
