Today marks the first day of #Sketch50 – a movement in creativity and sharing that I learned from Ann Kozma’s tweet.
Join us for 50 days of playing, learning & sharing! #sketch50 begins Monday! 1 sketch a day… info at https://t.co/4JCJXcwpcE @sketch_50 pic.twitter.com/iZMfRQD1TS
— Ann Kozma ??? (@annkozma723) March 24, 2017
This #Sketch50 movement is definitely such a fantastic way for playing, learning, and sharing. It’s a great way to be creative with our sketching and drawing. For this first day of #Sketch50, I shared two sketches. The first was a self-portrait that I created a few weeks ago at a professional learning session for the Spectra Art teachers in PAUSD. The second was the sketch for Day 1 of #Sketch50. https://sketch50.org
Starting #sketch50 with a self portrait using Paper @FiftyThree. @sketch_50 @annkozma723 @LindseyBlass1 pic.twitter.com/7lxcnijm75
— Joe Young (@Jyoung1219) March 27, 2017
Day 1 #sketch50
How I feel when I get an idea from inspiration & from my #PLN #tosachat @sketch_50 @annkozma723 pic.twitter.com/UwAFlBPRGa
— Joe Young (@Jyoung1219) March 27, 2017
I have always enjoyed anything creative – design and engineering activities, sketching, writing my own songs, photography, videography, and more. I believe everyone is creative too. Recently, I had a conversation with a colleague who said that she’s not creative and isn’t as artistic as others. Immediately I wanted to convince her of the opposite but I knew I needed to take a different approach. I told her that I understand how she feels. In my mind, I felt that she said those comments because of fear. She feared what others think and would say. I told her I understand.
I remember feeling that fear. I remember the first time I was critiqued for my drawings. I remember the first time I was criticized for my songwriting. I remember how I felt. And I also remember how I felt when I did draw, sing, write, create, design, … pretty much any verb, including dance, play, and even skip. I feel free. I feel alive. I feel creative. And that’s because when I do those things, those verbs, I am living in the moment. I am doing what I enjoy, without fear of ridicule, criticism, or judgment. The reality is that I know those are things I can’t avoid, but when I’m in the moment I don’t think of those crippling things. I just live. And that’s what I told her, draw, sketch, do anything just for you. If you enjoy it, do it. And also know that someone will be impacted by your work.
There will be times when you do something just for you with no one ever to see the results of it and there will be times when others will see it. Don’t let others’ eyes stop you from enjoying the moment.
A quote from Patricia Polacco that I had the pleasure of hearing at a school assembly applies to this story. “We are all gifted. We just open our gifts at different times.”
Believe in your gifts. Don’t let fear stop you from opening them. Open them no matter who sees, or if nobody sees. Open your gifts for you.
I appreciate this #Sketch50 movement and how so many educators have shared their sketches (and we’re only on the first day). I’m sure there are some (or many) out there who are participating on their own and just choosing not to share their sketches on Twitter, Instagram, or other platforms. I say that’s great. I believe the power of this movement begins by just getting creative for yourself. Have fun with the sketches. Be in the moment.
Click here to see Joe’s original post from 3/27/17 on his blog, “Journey of a Math & STEAM TOSA”
Sketch50 