InkTober - Week 2

I have seen SO many really inspiring #InkTober drawings this week.  It is awfully easy to listen to my inner critic (her name is Marjorie) that my stuff doesn't compare.  Well, you know what?  Marge is the only one that's actually comparing.  And while everyone is entitled to their own opinion, including her, we can't let other's opinions guide our art.
I was pretty pleased with some of my drawings this week, others...not so much.  The point of InkTober isn't to produce a masterpiece every day, it's to draw something every day.  And every day you draw, you learn something.  Sometimes you learn what works, and sometimes you learn what doesn't.  Like most things in life, the more you practice, the more you improve.
Don't let the Marges get you down!
tangledinklings.ca, Carol Graham

InkTober

So, many of you have probably heard of InkTober...it was started in 2009, by artist Jake Parker as a challenge to complete one ink drawing a day in the month of October.  You can read more about it HERE

I know several artists who've done some pretty amazing stuff in the past. Just search #InkTober on Facebook or Instagram for a visual treat!  I think I found the idea intimidating - both to commit to producing some art every day, and to be able to produce something 'worthy'.  Worthy of what, exactly?  Some misguided perfectionism and judgement?

You know, I am blessed to be able to teach the Zentangle® Method to wonderful folks, who sometimes claim they don't have a creative bone in their bodies.  I tell them that I believe we are all creative.  That being able to create something, just for the sake of creating, is what sets humans apart from other animals.  I tell them I believe all children are 'artists', and that somehow we lose that confidence in our ability to create, as we grow older.  That I believe every time you try, you get better.  And I'm not just giving them a spiel...I do believe that about each and every one of them.  But if I truly believed that - to my core - wouldn't I believe that about myself too?  

So this year, I decided that I will participate in InkTober.  And that I will be gentle with myself.  I may not get a drawing done every day for 31 days, and that will be okay.  The art I do get done may not be perfect, but it will be worthy.  Worthy of the time I take to get in touch with the creator in me and practice my art.


tangledinklings.ca
These are my ink drawings for the first seven days